Fans in Japan paying $3,400 to get some face time with Michael Jackson finally got their chance on Thursday, as the singer shook hands and posed for pictures with about people at a VIP party in Tokyo.
Mixed in with the ticket-paying crowd were more than 100 orphans and handicapped children who were invited to the event for free, the Associated Press reported.
Jackson wore his trademark dark shades and a black-and-gold Roberto Cavalli suit for the occasion.
By all reports, he appeared relaxed and comfortable during the six-hour run, which included a buffet dinner and a show featuring several Japanese Jackson impersonators.
In an interview with AP, Jackson reflected on a career pockmarked with an acquittal of child molestation in 2005, and a series of court battles over financial issues.
“I’ve been in the entertainment industry since I was 6 years old,” he told AP. “As Charles Dickens says, `It’s been the best of times, the worst of times.’ But I would not change my career.”
“While some have made deliberate attempts to hurt me, I take it in stride because I have a loving family, a strong faith and wonderful friends and fans who have, and continue, to support me,” he said.
