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I feel very keenly the eyes of the foreign media on our country. And I think a lot of Japanese people feel that things are not working the way they should. When the time comes, I will put myself forward.

The Japanese people are usually very prudent, even when they are convinced change is necessary.

I'm not really a money-oriented person. The press always write that I am. They don't seem to want to understand that I love the comfort of Japan and love the fact it's more peaceful, less frenzied than Hong Kong.

There's an awful lot of corruption in Japanese business and politics, corruption of the sort that can make for great setting for a spy story.

I don't really do Japanese interviews. I don't think there's much call for me in Japan.

The greatest problem in Japanese politics over the last two decades is that we put off what needed to be done. We have to overcome that.

I'm afraid Japanese people tend to collective hysteria.

The recipe to an unhappy life in Japan is to want to be Japanese if you are not. Anyone who wants to penetrate the country is setting themselves up for tears and disappointment.

The Japanese bureaucracy is unique. It is also very powerful, although it is now the object of so much criticism. Many of Japan's brightest made it a pillar of strength and continuity.