Japan: David Beckham arrived back in Tokyo with his wife Victoria yesterday to find himself the most famous British export since the Beatles, writes David McNeill
Hundreds of female fans, many of whom have carried a torch for the soccer superstar since last year's World Cup, serenaded his arrival in Narita Airport with screams of "Bekamu! Bekamu!"
"He's like someone who has descended from the clouds," said 16-year-old Yuko Tanaka, who lost her heart at the England-Argentina game and still wears the now nostalgic number seven Manchester United shirt. "Just looking at him makes me happy."
This being Japan, though, Beckham was in more in danger of being blinded by cameras than being mobbed by sweaty teenagers, despite the human tsunami (tidal wave) that surged forward as the famous couple emerged.
Reporters, some covering the event live, homed in on the Beckham ensemble in the 15 seconds before he disappeared into an elevator.
"He looks so serene, more like a fashion model than a soccer player," said one. "He has Samurai hair," gasped Fuji TV's Yuko Ando, anchor of Japan's most popular afternoon show.
Nobody mentioned that Beckham is in the country to promote chocolate-coated nuts and beauty salons, two of a number of multimillion dollar endorsements he made after Beckhamania swept Japan last summer.
TV stations yesterday ran specials on Beckham fashion, recounting the history of the famous barnet which sparked a Japanese boom in Mohican haircuts last year. Some went in search of the essence of Beckham in unlikely places.
"He smelled gorgeous," said the English team's official masseur, Yuka Doi, when asked what impression the soccer legend had left behind.
Anything else? probed the reporter. "His back was really big and his legs were long."
The attention to every aspect of Beckham's life and looks was lacking only one thing - detail about his wife. Like the group she once fronted, Posh Spice has failed to make an impression on the Japanese public.
"She looks so sulky and never smiles," said 35-year-old Chiaki Yanai, who wondered, politely of course, what he saw in her. "Her husband seems very shy and kind, which is why I like him." This seems to get to the heart of Beckham's massive appeal in Japan and, indeed, from Beijing to Bali. Disgustingly talented, stylish and handsome though he may be, it was Beckham's sportsmanship and humility in a culture that prizes these qualities that won hearts during World Cup 2002.
Never too big a star to refuse an autograph or smile at the millionth Nikon, it's Beckham's humility that will probably ensure here that his kit continues to outsell the rest of his team put together when he puts on the number 11 shirt at Real Madrid.
Not that anyone here is likely to ask embarrassing questions about Beckham's choice in women. The fawning Japanese press will continue to follow the superstar PR script, and the foreign hacks unfortunate enough to be trailing the breaking story of the controversial end to his Manchester United career are barred from the only press conference, scheduled for tomorrow, by his sponsors.
In the meantime, the legions of loyal Beckhamites will have to get their fix from television reruns of their hero from last year, including his famous kiss of 10-year-old Yuka Hirota.
"His hair looked like a chicken and his beard hurt, but I could tell he likes kids," she said when asked how that felt.