OBAMA, Japan - With hula dancers, ecstatic chanting and some rock 'n' roll, a Japanese town named Obama rejoiced Wednesday as its accidental namesake was elected president of the United States.

An ocean away from the United States, this ancient fishing town of 32,000 people - Obama means "small shore" in Japanese - adopted Democrat Barack Obama as one of its own and put on a party to match.

Japanese who a year ago would hardly have followed the US election chanted Obama's name and his slogan, "Yes, we can!" as he won the White House.

"I'm so excited because Obama shares our town's name. But even if the town was called McCain, I would still support Barack Obama," said dancer Masayo Ishibashi, 44, wearing a Hawaiian skirt.

Yuichi Matsumoto, a 69-year-old shopkeeper, said president Obama would be good for more than just this town on the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

"I also think he will do lots of good things like ending the Iraq war and fixing the economic crisis," Matsumoto said.

The hula dancers hope to head to Washington for Obama's inauguration on January 20. They already performed in Hawaii after Obama beat out fellow senator Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for president.

Also toasting Obama was a local band called Anyone Brothers Band, who blared an electrical guitar for a song with the refrain "Obama is Beautiful World."

The band's lead singer Akihiko Mukohama voiced admiration that the United States elected its first non-white leader.

Japan is one race so it's difficult for us to understand racial discrimination. But the US consists of various races," said the 34-year-old rocker, clad in a blue suit, shades and a white top-hat.

"I hope the world is changing."

A nationwide poll last month showed that an overwhelming 66 percent of Japanese preferred Obama as president against 15 percent for his rival John McCain, with the rest not voicing an opinion.

But to be sure, the town of Obama has ulterior motives as well for supporting the president-elect.

"All of the local people here think that Obama will come visit," confided Tadao Ono, 67, as he watched the hula dancers.

Dozens of out-of-town journalists flocked Wednesday to cover the town, which was best known a year ago for lacquer chopsticks and mackerel.

It was Obama himself who first drew attention to the connection. He told Japan's TBS network in 2006 that when he flew into Japan, a startled passport control officer told him that he was from Obama.

A local Buddhist monk, Shoryu Tamagawa, saw the footage and encouraged the mayor to send Obama a good-luck charm and a pair of chopsticks.

Tamagawa, wearing an Obama pin on his black robe, said that the senator and the city had more in common than just a name.

"Obama is about bringing together people of different rates and Buddhism brings together different gods. We think the same."