Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2010

Hard to believe that it’s been a year since the King of Pop departed for that great Neverland in the sky. If you’d like to mark the first anniversary of his death, there are plenty of Michael Jackson tribute events going on around town on Friday, June 25. Nishi-Azabu hotspot Eleven’s “Forever Michael” kicks off with a talk session featuring Jacko biographers Masaharu Yoshioka and Gota Nishidera, followed by New York’s DJ Spinna on the decks (http://go-to-eleven.com). At Air in Daikanyama (www.air-tokyo.com), they’ve drafted in Cali hip-hopper Peanut Butter Wolf to reprise his Michael Jackson Video Tribute, which debuted to enormous acclaim in LA last summer. There are impersonators galore at “Benoa” Ginza’s “Remembering MJ” event (www.pasela-ginza.com), while Solfa’s prosaically titled “Michael Jackson Night” in Nakameguro (www.nakameguro-solfa.com) is headlined by Jackson 5 remixer Kenichi Yanai. Multiplexes throughout the city will be screening concert doc This is It during the weekend, and if you want to see a throng of Japanese kids busting their best Thriller renditions, head to Venus Fort in Odaiba (www.venusfort.co.jp) from 1pm on June 26 for “Beat It!!”