Leaders, superstars, fans mourn King of Pop

"When the light came back on I would play my Michael Jackson LP, and I'd stand at the window and sing along," he said.

Japanese fans were always among Jackson's most passionate supporters, and news of his death came as a huge shock. Michiko Suzuki, a music critic who met Jackson several times in the 1980s, said the country was likely to be mourning for some time.

"Everyone was imitating his 'moonwalk' when it was a hit. He was a true superstar," she said.

Jackson also had a huge fan base in Seoul, South Korea, where his style and dance moves were widely emulated by Korean pop stars.

"He is my master and the prime mover to make me dance," pop star Rain told the South Korean sports and entertainment daily Ilgan Sports. "Even though he is dead, he is an eternal performer."

Aaron Kwok, one of Chinese pop's most accomplished singer-dancers, said he was deeply saddened by the news.

"It's so sudden," Kwok said in a statement. "No one can replace Michael Jackson's contributions to pop music."

Associated Press writers Tanalee Smith in Sydney; Marta Falconi in Rome; Shawn Pogatchnik in Dublin; Rod McGuirk in Canberra; Peter Orsi in Mexico City; Stan Lehman in Sao Paolo; Jorge Rueda in Caracas; Madeleine Bair in Bogota; John Rogers and Derrik J. Lang in Los Angeles; Kim Yong-ho in Seoul; Min Lee in Hong Kong; Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo; Angela Charlton in Paris and Teresa Cerojano in Manila contributed to this report.