In Argentina, in Brazil, I remember going to Australia, all the trips I did in Japan, you know how they’d advertise me? ‘From Madison Square Garden, Bruno Sammartino.’
Being exposed to different production environments in Korea, Japan and the U.S. was a great experience, and each system allows you to quench your thirst in a different way.
In Japan, you get on the bullet train or the airplane, and I loved the little speeches the stewardesses would do. They even do little speeches before you play gigs.
When I race in Australia or Korea or Japan I know it will be a big change for me because Ferrari fans are worldwide.
Being a die-hard Knicks fan, I remember hunting down these orange-and-blue Nikes that they only released in England. And I used to hunt for sneakers when I DJ’d in Japan. But then Nike flooded the market with a head-spinning array of color combinations and it just didn’t seem cool anymore.
In most places that are rich in guitar culture, everyone uses their fingers, like in Spain or Africa. In Japan there are string instruments played that way. It is not until you get in the States that you find people using picks.
When we arrived in Japan in 1988, we were not prepared for the overwhelming support shown to us.
Wrestling in Japan, obviously, the fans are a little bit different – very quiet, very respectful in New Japan – but here in the WWE, these fans are going nuts.
China’s development is an opportunity for the international community, for Japan and for the Asia-Pacific.
My first flight was to Majorca as a 17-year-old and I went to Seattle to visit a friend after that. But the first time I really ventured out abroad to Canada and Japan as well as to Europe, to France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, was to promote my first album.
I want to clear this once and for all. I was born in Hong Kong. I grew up in Japan and China. London is not home for me. I was there only for three years before I moved to India, but that’s probably why I am connected with it. London is definitely not the place I consider my home. It’s India that I consider home.
We discussed the history of postwar Japan and how Japan had missed an opportunity to build a more functional democracy because of the focus on fighting communism driven in large part by the American occupation.
Japan cannot conquer China with America in her rear, Soviet Russia on her right and England on her left – her most powerful enemies in the South Sea all flanking her. It is this international situation that constitutes one of Japan’s great weaknesses.
I have no sense of myself as a sex symbol at all. But the meaning of sex symbol might be a little different in Japan to elsewhere. The Japanese version seems to come with a stronger emphasis on a sort of grownup or mature male charm. And if that’s the case, then I guess I’m happy to hear it.
My dad was this Jack-of-all-trades, entrepreneur type. I secretly think he may be a spy, when I really think about it and I kind of connect the pieces. That’s what led us to moving to Japan when I was four.
I served at the Pentagon and at Fort Leavenworth – my job was video cameraman, and that allowed me to travel to places like Korea, Japan, Alaska, Germany and the Netherlands.
I found out I was joining Bullet Club and going to New Japan and had probably two or three weeks to get ready for that.
Many people ask me about WWE and if I’d go to WWE in the future. They ask me if I’m going now. I will not go. I want to make New Japan Pro-Wrestling bigger.
I’ve never been invited to do an exhibition or do a talk in England, except once, about 10 years ago. I’ve given talks all across Canada, many in the United States, South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan – but not England.
Japan is opposed to any actions that escalate tensions in the South China Sea.
If they had listened to me and had equal partnerships in China, the U.K., Germany and Brazil, maybe Yahoo in those countries could have become positioned like Yahoo Japan.
The method of producing comics in Japan is very hectic, but it’s also rewarding because it’s possible to do both the story and art all by yourself.
I wouldn’t mind going back to Japan and fight. That’s what my heart really wants to do.
There’s a tendency for the yen to strengthen because it’s rated highly, but I don’t think that accurately reflects Japan’s economic performance.
I’m Asian, so they assumed I’m not an American and that I come from Japan. Restaurants would refuse to serve me, and places would refuse to give you a haircut.
I remember a great America where we made everything. There was a time when the only thing you got from Japan was a really bad cheap transistor radio that some aunt gave you for Christmas.
If we could muster the same determination and sense of responsibility that saves a country like Japan – or a company like Xerox – then investing to save women and children who are dying in the developing world would be very good business.
I want to position myself as a great singer/songwriter in Korea, then jump off that into different markets. South-east Asia, China, Japan – I’ve done nothing even though I speak four languages – English, Korean, Spanish, and a little bit of Mandarin.
I know why I lost my fight to Ryan Bader. Because I was injured. I needed surgery but I didn’t want to back out because I was fighting in Japan.
The new book is a result of my well-documented… absorption in Samurai movie culture. It’s called ‘The 47th Samurai: A Bob Lee Swagger novel,’ and it takes Bob to Japan in search of the sword his father recovered on Iwo that has gone missing under extremely violent circumstances.
Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy, were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions in debts.
Since ancient times, people from throughout Asia have brought to Japan their talents, knowledge and energy, helping to lay the basis for Japan’s existence as a country.
In Japan, people don’t really sing about sexual content.
There are many things to admire about Japan but this is the one thing I love the most and probably the only time I eat breakfast. Fish, eggs, soup, salad, veggies; all in the tiniest bites. It’s a full meal, but it’s so refreshing.
Japan has opened a new chapter in its history.
When I left the U.S. for the first time, I spent my first year abroad in Japan. That culture shock and abundance of new stimuli combined with a lack of guidance forced me to develop my own approaches to learning and juggling.
I don’t have a nickname. But, hey, they can call me what they want – The Silent Assassin, The Underground King. In Japan, they call me American Knuckle Star. Call me what you want.
You don’t implement change easily in Japan unless you explain very clearly why you need to do this change, how you’re going to do this change and what’s going to be the outcome of this change. If you offset or you forget to explain one of these three steps you’re not going to do it.
In Japan, you can learn how to make a bunch of flowers. This is an art. Tea ceremony, it’s an art.
I loved cowboy films and TV series, and I learned bits of English from them. My favorite was ‘Laramie’, with Robert Fuller and John Smith. I used to watch ‘The Lone Ranger’, which had been famous in Japan as well. I idolized these cowboys.
In Japan there is a lot of manga, but around manga there are video games, manga on cellphones, manga in card games… so people not only enjoy manga but also the products around it.
I miss riding those fast trains in Japan… ’cause I’d never seen a train that fast in my life.
Japan is the only country in the world which suffered from the scourge of nuclear weapons.
Do I think Vince McMahon was looking at my matches in Japan going, ‘We need him?’ No. He wasn’t. He’s too busy. There’s no way. But somebody may have been looking and going, ‘All right, I like this guy. Let’s give him a shot.’
For people like me, who appreciate the love and respect you get from the fans in Japan, there was no reason for me to turn my head to the other side and go try my options and luck in the UFC.
Today osteoporosis affects more than 75 million people in the United States, Europe and Japan and causes more than 2.3 million fractures in the USA and Europe alone.
It was one thing to contain the Soviet Union in Europe because Britain, France, and Germany were all willing to join in. But will Japan and other Asian countries be willing to join in the containment of China?
Iran’s goal is not to become another North Korea – a nuclear weapons possessor but a pariah in the international community – but rather Brazil or Japan, a technological powerhouse with the capacity to develop nuclear weapons if the political winds were to shift, while remaining a nonnuclear weapons state.
It’s no secret that I love the country, and Japan has always felt like a second home to me.
Japan is an important ally of ours. Japan and the United States of the Western industrialized capacity, 60 percent of the GNP, two countries. That’s a statement in and of itself.
My dad and I used to watch ‘Ninja Warrior’ all the time back when it was in Japan. I would always say, ‘I could do that,’ kind of joking, but obviously kind of serious.
For some reason, I grew up generally believing that Japan and Korea were quite friendly. I do know that there is some bad history and the extremists on both sides are unreasonable.
