Was it Japan or the Philippines that invented the Karaoke?
Did Filipino Inventor, Roberto del Rosario invent the Karaoke in 1975, as some have stated?
Roberto del Rosario is stated to have developed the Karaoke Sing Along System in 1975, and began marketing it in 1978.
However, the word Karaoke is a Japanese expression for singing along to a famous record with the vocals removed.
The word karaoke comes from the fusion of two Japanese words: kara, meaning “empty,” and oke, meaning “orchestra.” “Empty orchestra” makes sense for the activity as one sings along to a band or orchestra that is not even there.
The world’s first karaoke machine, the Juke-8, was built by Japanese inventor and musician Daisuke Inoue in 1971.
Why is it stated that it was invented by a Filipino when it was actually created 4 years earlier, by a Japanese?
The Japanese inventor and musician Daisuke Inoue did not patent his invention!!
In 1999, Time Magazine chose Daisuke Inoue as one of the top twenty people to have influenced the 20th century. They said Gandhi had changed the way people lived their lives in the daytime, and karaoke had changed the way people spent their nights.
In 2004 Daisuke Inoue was awarded the Ig Nobel Peace Prize at Harvard, for the karaoke.
A film entitled Karaoke was made about Daisuke Inoue and the Karaoke machine.
http://theappendix.net/issues/2013/10/voice-hero-the-inventor-of-karaoke-speaks
From the BBC
Almost every Philippine home has a karaoke machine or a Magic Sing microphone – a digital mic that turns your television into a karaoke machine. It’s almost always a feature at birthday and holiday parties. And scores of bars and restaurants offer karaoke or videoke (a more competitive version that scores singers and records their performances).
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20110812-travelwise-karaoke-in-the-philippines
There is no doubt that Karaoke is very popular in the Philippines.