"African people are strong and lively. I feel the spreading AIDS tragedy that afflicts them as if it were my own," said Esaid Kohei Yamada, 28, whose song about AIDS is gaining popularity in Africa.

Yamada, who visited Eritrea in eastern Africa in July, introduced his AIDS-related song in the local Tigrinya language. The song, about a woman who resolutely accepts that her boyfriend is suffering from AIDS, is quite popular in the country. The upbeat tune sung by a Japanese in jimbe casual wear seems to have been accepted well by local people.

Yamada first sang the song "Ndimakukonda--E(I Love You) in the Chichewa language spoken in the southern African country of Malawi, where he worked as a member of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers in 2005.

He wrote the song as a result of the shock he felt seeing his friend from the area suffer from AIDS. He also hopes the tune, which has ranked No 1 on the country's hit chart, will encourage young people to be tested for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Most of Africa's 22 million AIDS sufferers, who account for two-thirds of the world's total, are concentrated in the sub-Saharan portion of the continent. The song aimed to raise awareness of HIV tests among African young people who are apt to shy away from AIDS topics.

Since Yamada returned to Japan, he has widened awareness of Africa through his lectures and books. He has never forgotten "African people who laugh at their troubles". EYamada hopes to contribute to AIDS prevention in Africa by singing the song in local languages. (By SHIOMI KADOYA/ The Yomiuri Shimbun/ ANN)