Obama town rallies behind US namesake

Hundreds of residents in the sleepy Japanese fishing port of Obama sang and danced yesterday to try to cheer up Barack Obama after his winning streak in the US presidential primaries stalled.

Wearing colourful T-shirts and headbands with the logo "I Love Obama", residents gathered at a public hall, singing songs and shouting "Obama, Obama, Obama!"

Around the town, businesses are selling everything from T-shirts, fish burgers and cakes to chopsticks with Obama's name.