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I know just enough Japanese to get by if I get lost and greet an audience properly, just from having a lot of Japanese friends and being there over the years.

We don't put our emotions out there in Japan. I'm Japanese, but I love to be honest.

The Japanese press likes me a lot, but the problem is the Japanese government. It's very bureaucratic.

Since my Japanese isn't very good, I had to have an interpreter to communicate with most of the crew.

I couldn't speak Japanese very well, passport regulations were changing, I felt British, and my future was in Britain. And it would also make me eligible for literary awards. But I still think I'm regarded as one of their own in Japan.

It is hard to be an individual in Japan.

People talk about Japanese kids as being inward-looking. But my experience is that if you offer them an opportunity, they'll take it.

I really love traveling to Japan.

As a Japanese actor, I really want to work with a lot of actors and actresses in the world and many directors who have many different kinds of talents. I feel like nationally doesn't matter at all.

It's just that, when I'm in Japan I could foretell to a certain degree what would be accepted, so I certainly don't come up with any crazy arrangements.