Acall has been made for Sugar Minott’s massive contribution to the expansion of reggae in Japan to be fully documented in English. The call came from no less a person than top Japanese Reggae artiste, Nahki, who expressed the view that the late Reggae crooner, more than anyone else, was responsible for the popularisation of reggae in Japan.

“All through the history of the early 80s, he contributed most to spread reggae in Japan,” Nahki told the Observer in an interview at the National Arena on Sunday.

The most famous Japanese Reggae exponent was attending Sugar Minott’s thanksgiving service and highlighted some little known facts about the impact the departed singer made on the Japanese music scene.

“Most people don’t know how much him really put out his effort travelling by minivans all over Japan in every crevice and corner, and just dedicated himself with lots of love to expose and introduce reggae,” Nahki stressed.

“Him was the first one to really show us, show me, how to string up the sound box and stuff like that. A lot of history that he actually contributed for us to spread Reggae in Japan, is not really documented in English. And I would like to have somebody really record that history to deliver to the next generation. Lots of youths, especially lots of Japanese visiting now in Jamaica, they started listening to reggae by sound systems like Mighty Crown and they don’t even now how Mighty Crown started sound system. They don’t even know how the foundation was built by Sugar Minott’s contribution.”

The pioneering Japanese Reggae artiste who was scouted by Sugar Minott and began performing in Jamaica, and who later formed Japan’s first Reggae festival Japansplash in 1985, added; “The way I actually reached Reggae was like through Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Third World music through FM radio… but still yet, as an actual artiste himself, Sugar Minott was the real live person that really attracted me.”

“And I had a chance to really meet him when he came to Japan ’84, and then I invited him to my show in Tokyo and I was doing like a couple songs, cover songs which were Sugar Minott’s songs. So I got a chance to jam with him and his band Black Roots, and then he invited me to Youthman Promotion in 85, and made a trip to Jamaica for the first time and I was welcomed by Sugar Minott, Youthman Promotion and his family at his yard on Robert Crescent. A deh soh mi bawn like yuh nuh.”

Nahki went on to explain that Sugar Minott was like a part of the Tachyon Crew behind the staging of Reggae Japansplash, and concluded:”So People (in Japan) know about reggae, know about Sugar Minott. A lot of people involved in the reggae industry there are inspired by Sugar. It’s a great loss, great grief, it so sad. And many of them want to come to this funeral. But such a long distance, so I am here to represent them too.”