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If I had Y5 for every time somebody asked me what Japanese musicians need to do to break into the American market, I'd be a rich man.

OK, I'm exaggerating a bit. But I could certainly buy myself a nice meal. People in the media and music industry ask me that same question with amazing regularity. It seems that having a hit in the United States, which, of course, is the world's biggest and most influential music market, remains the impossible dream for the Japanese music industry.

It's easy for me to come up with all sorts of answers as to why Japanese pop acts haven't done well in the US (or Canada, or Europe, for that matter). It's a lot harder, though, to come up with positive ideas about what they need to do in order to break through on the other side of the Pacific.

Language is obviously the big factor to have any hope of having a hit record in the US — you've got to sing in English. But it's also important to offer something that's both original and accessible, which is probably why Japanese artists such as Seiko Matsuda, Toshinobu Kubota, Dreams Come True and many others haven't been able to crack the US market, even though they sang in English.

Their English language stuff just came across as forced and unnatural. I know that sounds harsh, but I just didn't get the sense that they were really communicating their emotions, which is what pop music, like any other work of art, has to do on at least some level.

And of course, you've got to have a good song! Which is the main reason the late Kyu Sakamoto's version of Ue wo Muite Aruko was an international hit way back in 1963. It's just an incredibly good tune that has the power to move people emotionally, no matter what culture they're from.

That's very, very rare, which explains why Ue wo Muite Aruko is the only Japanese song ever to make it to the top of the Billboard hit singles chart. But I think another reason that song did so well was that to a large extent it was perceived as a novelty song, especially since its English title was Sukiyaki, one of the few Japanese words that people in the West knew at the time.

All of this makes me hope that female vocal duo Puffy will be able to have a hit in the US with the song Love So Pure. Released in the US on May 1 as one of the songs on the American version of "Spike," Puffy's most recent album, "Love So Pure" is a typically upbeat, poppy Puffy single.

Longtime Puffy collaborator Andy Sturmer, of American band Jellyfish, wrote the lyrics and the music of "Love So Pure," which was previously released under the title "Sumire" on the original Japanese version of "Spike."

I think Ami and Yumi do a great job on this, their English language debut. Their pronunciation isn't perfect, but that's not the point. What matters is that they convey an infectious sense of fun, which is what any good pop single should do.

With its unpretentious, retro-style guitar and strong melodic hooks, "Love So Pure" is a great AM radio song.

For the same reason, I think that Japanese rock duo Love Psychedelico also stand a good chance of selling well in the US if they play their cards right. I recently saw them perform live at MTV Japan's launch party, and they were great. The MTV International executives who attended the event loved them, and seem very eager to give them exposure in the key overseas markets such as the US.

It helps that vocalist Kumi is comfortable in singing in English, her gutsy emotion comes across well in both English and Japanese, and that Love Psychedelico write great, fantastically catchy tunes.

There are now rumours that a major American management company may be on the verge of signing Love Psychedelico. That's very significant, because in the past Japanese record labels and production companies haven't done a very good job of promoting Japanese artists in the US.

Having the support of a strong American management team may turn out to be the key factor in achieving Stateside success. Another piece of good news for those of us who want to see Japanese musicians achieve the success they deserve in overseas markets is that hardcore band the Mad Capsule Markets have licensed their album OCS-DIS to Chris Blackwell's Palm Music label for North America and Europe.

Blackwell is the man who played a key role in making the late, great Bob Marley an international superstar, so the Mad Capsules are in good hands.

Puffy, Love Psychedelico and the Mad Capsule Markets are all very different musical acts, but they have one thing in common: originality and a drive to succeed. Let's hope that they help open the doors a little wider for Japanese pop music in the US. (The author is Asia Bureau Chief of Billboard magazine). (Kyodo News)