The 35th International Whistlers Convention has taken place in Japan, with 77 contestants using their melodious chords to try to win top prize.

It was held at the Cultural Hall of the Ushiku Central Lifelong Study Center on July 21, some 90 kilometres north of the Japanese capital.

The rules of the competition are pretty simple, just put your lips together and blow - the most stable and perfectly puckered lip techniques clinch the prize.

But this is the first time the International Whistlers Convention has been held in Japan, it is usually held in Louisburg, North Carolina, USA.

The Japan Whistlers Federation chairman Ryousuke Takeuchi said: "Japan earned this right by clinching the top prize in 5 different divisions in the 2007 competition."

In Japan, whistling at night is considered to bring out evil spirits and whistling in public is not common.

Carole Anne Kaufman from Los Angeles, California, United States was crowned top of the women's division of the United States.

In the men's division, Dutchman Geert Chatrou beat Norway's Tormod Borgen Rogne (second place) and China's Cao Qing Yao (third place) to be crowned for the third time since the 2004 grand champion.

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