Obama, the Japanese town, welcomed the Democrat's victory on Wednesday with a show of elation. The citizens of this sleepy fishing port clapped and cheered the news of his conquest of the White House.

But for many, the enthusiasm had more to do with the prospect of putting their city in the limelight, which is likely to mean greater prosperity as a tourist destination.

"We started this as a joke," said Yasunori Maeno of the"Obama for Obama" campaign he helped organize. "But as we came to know more about him, the more we liked him."

Obama has a population of 32,000, smaller than the crowds Obama drew at many of his U.S. campaign stops. While few along its quiet streets could name his policy proposals, his optimism and upbeat message of change resonates well here.

Obama, which means "little beach" in Japanese, is a former fishing town that now relies almost entirely on tourism. More than 500 years old, it boasts several ancient temples and a distinctive hand-painted lacquerware.

But the rustic town, wrapped around a stretch of sandy beach and surrounded by wooded hills, is not well-known, even among Japanese tourists. So Obama?ˉs success has been a welcome boon.

The town has been featured repeatedly in the domestic and international media, and the number of visitors has increased 20 percent since it linked itself to the Obama campaign, said Shigeyoshi Takeda, who heads the city tourism bureau.

"We've had a lot more customers since the campaign, especially foreigners. We rarely had foreigners here before," said Atsuko Ikeda, 38, the cheery owner of a watering hole on the main shopping street.

Obama's mayor, Kouji Matsuzaki, also won election with a campaign based on the English word"change." He said he plans to invite Obama to visit Obama, and dispatched a congratulatory telegram to the president-elect.

The Kenyan ambassador to Japan, Dennis N.O. Awori, swept into town and said his country was considering building a special airport near Obama's ancestral village so he could fly in on Air Force One. Obama's father was from Kenya.

The mastermind behind the "Obama for Obama"campaign, Seiji Fujiwara, is executive director of one of the town's largest hotels. He said the town has several business leaders with marketing experience that jumped on the opportunity.

"There are other towns named Obama in Japan, but we were the first to react," he said.

Town officials sent gifts and received an official letter from the campaign, signed "Your friend" in Japanese. Fujiwara said the support group is already planning its future moves. Among them: Go to Washington for the inauguration in January and perform a hula dance.

(SD-Agencies)