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Planet Pop

Smiling and waving to screaming fans, Michael Jackson arrived in Japan yesterday for his second visit here in recent years to host an exclusive party where fans get to spend half a minute with the pop icon for US$3,500 a pop.

The erstwhile King of Pop made his first official foray back into the spotlight after his acquittal on child molestation charges in June 2005 with an appearance in Tokyo to accept an MTV award last year.

A relaxed-looking Jackson in trademark sun glasses and black leather jacket was ushered by guards past hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at Narita Airport on Sunday afternoon, some carrying signs that read "We love Michael" and "Welcome to Japan." At the VIP party, guests were to mingle with Jackson, spending 30 seconds to one minute each of exclusive face time with the Gloved One.

A fan art contest will also be held for Japanese who cannot afford VIP tickets, organizer Broderick Morris said in an e-mail. "Over the years, as Michael Jackson has performed in cities around the world, he has been pleased, honored, and impressed by the large amount of fan art of him," said Morris. Three winning artists chosen by Jackson will have brunch with the star and their picture taken together.

Jackson, one of the best-selling artists of all time, has lived abroad since his acquittal, forsaking his Neverland Ranch in California for residences in Bahrain, France, and a castle in Ireland.

He told a reporter in January he was back in the US, where he was widely reported to be pursuing business deals in Las Vegas. "I love Japan," he said at the time. "It is one of my favorite places in the entire world." Jackson's VIP meet-and-greet party was scheduled for Thursday, with the fan art contest on Friday. It was not clear when Jackson would leave Japan.

Over in Europe, Hong Kong-born Princess Alexandra of Denmark, divorced from a Danish prince, gave up her royal title Saturday when she married her cameraman boyfriend Martin Jorgensen, a Dane 15 years her junior.

The couple tied the knot in a private ceremony at Oster Egede Church in the Danish town of Fakse in front of 120 guests.

Alexandra, 42, divorced Prince Joachim, second son of Queen Margrethe of Denmark, in 2004. The couple had two children, 3-year-old Felix and 7-year-old Nikolai, who were both at their mother's second wedding.

Six months after publicly rebuking actor Tom Cruise for his off-screen behavior, Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone wants to make nice. The cooky actor's antics over his romance with Katie Holmes and his aggressive defense of Scientology were reasons cited by Redstone when he broke ties with Cruise last year after a long and lucrative relationship at Viacom-owned Paramount Pictures.

Redstone said last week he was surprised that his original comments were as explosive as they were. "What happened was, I just gave an interview to The Wall Street Journal. In the course of it, they asked me what was going on. I said, 'You know, he would no longer be in the lot,'" Redstone told People magazine. "I didn't fire him! I had nothing to do with it. But they treated it explosively. And I didn't like it."

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