Museum marks Lennon birthday

The memorabilia includes guitars and lyric books

The world's first museum dedicated to the life of John Lennon is opening to the public in Japan on what would have been the former Beatle's 60th birthday.

Japan was a very important place for John

Yoko Ono

His widow, Yoko Ono, is opening the museum, which contains more than 100 items of memorabilia from the singer's life.

It is set in the corner of a sports arena in a suburban area north of Tokyo - an unlikely spot for a museum dedicated to someone who spent most of his life in Britain and the United States.

Special place

But his widow, Yoko Ono, says Lennon had a special love for Japan.

The opening marks Lennon's 60th birthday

"Japan was a very important place for John because John's son was half Japanese, but also we felt that we were somehow bridging the difference between East and West," she said.

Yoko Ono donated most of the items on display, including handwritten song lyrics, John Lennon's first guitar and a pair of his wire-rimmed glasses.

The museum is divided into separate zones featuring different aspects of the singer's life.

Beatles' songs play and visitors can watch a film about Lennon's life.

Yoko Ono, who donated most exhibits, with museum director Jiro Kikuchi

John Lennon remains a popular figure in Japan 20 years after he was murdered and 30 years after the Beatles split up.

Just last week crowds gathered outside a record shop at midnight to buy the first copies of the Beatles anthology, the official autobiography written by the group's surviving members.

John Lennon first visited Japan on a tour with the Beatles in 1966 and he came back several times after that following his marriage to Yoko Ono.

Lennon was shot dead on 8 December outside his Manhattan home where he lived with Ono.

His killer Mark David Chapman lost his first bid for parole last week.