The Japanese genius for assimilating foreign sounds into a new form is well known, and the invasion of World Music has had a significant effect. Reggae, for example, was considered "underground" for years, but the rise of Japanese outfits like Jamaican-style toaster Rankin' Taxi and ska band Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, playing at events like the annual reggae fest Japansplash, has given the genre a mainstream profile. Visits by Africans like Papa Wemba (whose global management is located in Japan) have created local lingala ( soukous ) bands. Latin music has also had a big effect, propelling the talented Orquesta de la Luz to the top of the Billboard Latin chart in the early 1990s.

But the most significant development has been the rise of local roots bands since the late 1980s, when bands like Shang Shang Typhoon (SST), The Boom, and Okinawan artists and bands such as Rinkenband, Nenes, Kina, Daiko Tetsuhiro and Amuro Namie broke onto the scene. Inspiration came from both within Japan (Okinawa and local popular culture) and outside (World Music).

The second coming of the Okinawans was heralded by frenetic sell-out gigs of the Rinkenband in 1990, and a short time later by the ecstatic comeback of Kina and Champluse (sometimes spelt Champloose). Okinawan traditional music blended with bright pop caught everyone's attention. Okinawans' relationship to mainstream Japanese culture could be compared to the "Celtic" movement in Europe: they have a keen sense of their own identity and, in an increasingly homogenized Japan, a lively folk culture.

The Okinawan's method of taking their local traditions and updating them with other forms of music has been reflected in a wave of new bands. Soul Flower Union , led by Nakagawa Takahashi, blend acoustic guitars, Okinawan and chindon (street) music, which advertises products or shops with drums and saxophones. Nakagawa wrote the hit Mangetsu no Yube (A Full Moon Evening) with Yamaguchi Hiroshi of The Heat for the victims of the Kobe earthquake. Unfortunately, SFU's music was considered too strange by its record company so the band released its own debut, Asyl Ching-Dong , on its own label. It features prewar tunes, and is strongly influenced by Okinawan master Daiku Tetsuhiro. SFU has several satellite units that play in acoustic or more rock-influenced styles, and are starting to get noticed overseas. Recent work has included gigs with Irish musicians like Donal Lunny and Dolores Keane.

Another updated local form is kawachi ondo , an old narrative folk style from the central Kansai region. Its rapid-fire, rap-like vocal delivery is somewhat similar to Thailand and Laos' mor lam . Traditionally, kawachi ono's wild men, dressed in colourful kimono, perform at local bon odori (summer festivals) around the country. The leading modern exponent, Kawachiya Kikusuimaru , burst onto the scene with a hit single for a TV commercial about part-time workers (known as "freeters"). He released several classy albums that included Indonesian, reggae and rock elements. He has been quiet of late, releasing only a wonderful (but long-deleted) collection of reggae covers - a tribute to Bob Marley called Bob Marley Ondo 97 - that included a cover of I Shot The Sheriff .

None of these bands, however, has had the pop chart success of The Boom , one of the earliest roots bands, who have been on the go since the mid-1980s. Led by Miyazawa Kazufumi , or Miya, the Boom started off as a ska/two-tone band, but quickly moved onto other styles and incorporated them into a heady brew. In 1993, they had the biggest-selling single in the country (1.5 million copies) with Shima Uta (Island Songs). It used an Okinawan melody and sanshin riffs, set to hard drums and rock guitar. Considered a modern classic, the song garnered the Japanese equivalent of the Grammy for Best Song.

Subsequently, the Boom moved into Indonesian music, giving it a similar treatment. Brazilian and Latin featured on the albums Far East Samba and Tropicalism . The latter disc saw the various elements from previous albums blending and maturing, and the band is certain to progress and achieve international prominence. Miya also has a blossoming solo career. He writes for Sakamoto, Kina, Dick Lee and even reggae singer Yami Bolo. In 1998 he released two albums, one in London, Sixteenth Moon , and the other, Afrosick (as in "homesick"), in Brazil, alongside such luminaries as Carlinos Brown.

If you want to hear some of these artists The Rough Guide to Japanese Music CD (World Music Network, UK) is a fine introduction to the Japanese music scene. It includes Soul Flower Mononoke Summit's Kobe earthquake song and Kubota Makoto and his band playing Kina's classic Hai Sai Oji-San , plus a strong Okinawan presence and classical and traditional artists.