Pop diva Whitney Houston may be gone, but Tokyo's cross-dressers will always look to the star for inspiration.
In the Japanese capital her memory is very much alive, with local cross-dresser 'Mako' paying tribute to the megastar.
SOUNDBITE: Mako, cross dresser, saying (English):
"There's no-one like Whitney, no-one who can bring sunshine to people's hearts quite so well, no-one with such a sweet voice."
Houston rose to fame in the 1980s and enjoyed a long career that peaked with her 1992 hit "I Will Always Love You".
But in Tokyo, it's her role as a symbol for the city's cross-dressing community that will live on.
Cross-dresser Jasmine explains.
SOUNDBITE: Jasmine, cross dresser, saying (English):
"Whitney - please come back to us, even as a zombie."
Houston was found underwater and unconscious in her Beverly Hills hotel room bathtub on February 11, and pronounced dead at the scene.
She was 48 years old.
Alicia Powell, Reuters.
