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"I would point out that the cultural advance of these people has been suppressed in the past and continues to be suppressed in the present by policies designed to keep them in ignorance."
"In dealing with the China problem, the British and American side, which had particularly strong interests in China, should have based its judgments about the origins of the problem on direct observation of the actual circumstances at the time."
"It goes without saying that when survival is threatened, struggles erupt between peoples, and unfortunate wars between nations result."
"Justice has nothing to do with victor nations and vanquished nations, but must be a moral standard that all the world's peoples can agree to. To seek this and to achieve it - that is true civilization."
"Nevertheless, China was unfortunately unable to understand Japan's real position, and it is greatly to be regretted that the Sino-Japanese War became one of long duration."
"On October 18, 1941, I suddenly received a mandate from His Majesty to form a new cabinet. This was completely unexpected, and when I was summoned to the Imperial Palace I thought I would be questioned on the army's point of view."
"The causes of the China Incident were the exclusion and insult of Japan throughout China, the exclusion of Japanese goods, the persecution of Japanese residents in China, and the illegal violation of Japanese rights."
"The main American naval forces were shifted to the Pacific region and an American admiral made a strong declaration to the effect that if war were to break out between Japan and the United States, the Japanese navy could be sunk in a matter of weeks."
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"At the Imperial Conference on December 1, it was decided to make war against England and the United States."
"Despite Japan's desires and efforts, unfortunate differences in the ways that Japan, England, the United States, and China understood circumstances, together with misunderstandings of attitudes, made it impossible for the parties to agree."
"During this period, Japan's peaceful commercial relations were successively obstructed, primarily by the American rupture of commercial relations, and this was a grave threat to the survival of Japan."
"Even military ministers have no more than a certain amount of control. It is customary that they have the right and the power to participate, from a political and military point of view, in the planning of actual operations."
"From the point of the view of the nation's power, it was obvious that while we were fighting the Sino-Japanese war, every effort was to be made to avoid adding to our enemies and opening additional fronts."
"However, even during the preparations for action, we laid our plans in such a manner that should there be progress through diplomatic negotiation, we would be well prepared to cancel operations at the latest moment that communication technology would have permitted."
"I would point out that Japan's proposal at the Versailles Peace Conference on the principle of racial equality was rejected by delegates such as those from Britain and the United States."
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"The reason was the failure of both Japan and China to understand each other and the inability of America and the European powers to sympathize, without prejudice, with the peoples of East Asia."
"Therefore, if one were to consider that there was virtually no possibility of success through the US-Japan negotiations, the military and economic pressures would only force Japan into further crisis if time were allowed to pass in vain."
"Throughout that period, Japan had made honest efforts to keep the destruction of war from spreading and, based on the belief that all nations of the world should find their places, had followed a policy designed to restore an expeditious peace between Japan and China."
"Thus, it was to seek true civilization and true justice for all the peoples of the world, and to view this as the destruction of personal freedom and respect is to be assailed by the hatred and emotion of war, and to make hasty judgments."
"To advocate a New Order was to seek freedom and respect for peoples without prejudice, and to seek a stable basis for the existence all peoples, equally, and free of threats."
"When reflecting upon it today, that the Pearl Harbor attack should have succeeded in achieving surprise seems a blessing from Heaven. It was clear that a great American fleet had been concentrated in Pearl Harbor, and we supposed that the state of alert would be very high."
"With options thus foreclosed, in order to protect and defend the nation and clear the obstacles that stood in its path, a decisive appeal to arms was made."
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"Actually, there was another band where we were three girls, around '84 when I met John Zorn, called Sunset Chorus. It was just bass and drums and guitar- we didn't make any records but we played a lot of different clubs in New York."
"Because it's dance music, you can't really have a lot of changing in there. It's really not for me because there's too much repetition. I like more diversity."
"Blood and death. That moves me."
"Come to think of it, the way I play is like a drum machine- very mechanical."
"I always wanted to get out of Tokyo and in 1977, New York seemed like the most interesting place to visit. I didn't intend to live here- I just wanted to get out and see what was happening. I just happened to stay here then."
"I got tired of different drum sounds so you buy different effects for more manipulation."
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"I really didn't intend to be a musician when I left Japan."
"I still think that I'm playing instruments, not just pushing buttons and there it goes. It's interactive and alive with the sound and the manipulation and it plays like instruments."
"I was playing in other rock bands. Any of those bands didn't last long."
"I'm interested in stories and the dark side of peoples' minds."
"I've done some music for films and I really enjoy doing it."
"Improvising things is always changing. A lot of momentum."
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"Mars is really different, into art. Lydia Lunch is more energy. James Chance is more commercial in a different way, in funk and jazz. They were all doing original things, trying to create their own sound and music. I think they're all great."
"So now I don't have time to practice drums. It's been five years since I've touched the drums."
"Somebody gave me this drum machine and somebody else asked me to program something for a project. I really liked programming and I was really interested in using the drum machine."
"The most important thing is that it's much more fun to play in a band than to be in an audience in a club. That's the main thing I think, that you can do it."
"The way I create music is maybe like a painting, to compose in a more visual way. Basically it's the music that I want to hear- that's my inspiration and bottom line. I just try to get ideas from books, movies, paintings."
"With a rock band, you play the same things over and over and over."
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"I always like whatever I did most recently. It's the closest to who I am at the moment."
"I don't have dreams. How can I say it? I myself am a dream."
"I don't set goals. Like, that's what I want to be doing however many years from now. I do what I love to do at the moment. If I wake up tomorrow and decide I want to dance, that's what I'd do. Or design clothes."
"I don't think you should meet the people you most admire. I don't want reality to interfere with my image."
"I have trouble voicing my thoughts... I can't communicate very well that way."
"I read and watch movies. I can't go to the movie theater much anymore, though, because I get recognized. It's worse sometimes if I wear a costume and try not to get recognized. I watch most of my films on airplanes."
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"I understand it's my role to realize people's dreams."
"I'd heard a lot of Asian people were rooting for me, but I had no idea. I was stunned. They were... impassioned, especially compared to Japan. I couldn't even have anticipated that kind of welcome."
"In the beginning, I was searching for myself in my music. My music was for me. I didn't have the mental room to be conscious of the listener; I wrote to save myself."
"It sounds odd coming from me, but I realize what I say and how I look has a great impact."
"It's hard to decide how to match words to music. It's not like it's twice the work. It's always difficult for me to explain to the composer what I'm looking for. I'm not a professional; I lack even basic knowledge about writing music."
"The way I work, typically, I do everything at the very last minute. Even if I was given two months, I'd do it in the last three days."
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"I bought an espresso maker and coffee maker and make them myself every day."
"I can never really enjoy being famous."
"I do feel really determined, and that I have to pull myself together, but I don't really think like, my market has changed and my company has changed, and I'm going to make it BIG in America!"
"I don't like going to the gym because I don't like being with people I don't know in that intense environment."
"I figure no matter how old you are, it's always going to be your first marriage and no life experience is going to make you a better judge of who you should marry."
"I get strangely obsessed about the cleanliness of my house."
"I just want people to see that I do my own stuff, that I'm not stupid, and I can make fun of myself."
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"I squeeze oranges every morning to make juice."
"I'm not like a gorgeous bombshell or anything like that."
"I've been missing Japanese literature so much of late."
"In English, the sounds and melodies I created were an inspiration to me, and words came to me as I explored the sounds, and from there I was able expand on the meaning."
"In Japan, people don't really sing about sexual content."
"It's a fairly recent thing but I've become very fond of making drinks myself."
"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."
"No one told me I had to make something that would sell, but I personally want everyone to like my music."
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"Actually, the fun part was not knowing what the heck I was going to be doing."
"Americans are somehow obsessed with her, and something about me hit a spot with people in Japan."
"And also, I think Japan places great value on the lyrics."
"And it was then that I realized wow, I'm able to write lyrics and sing and stuff like that."
"But in Japanese, there's actually not much of a relationship between the music and the words."
"For cubic U I didn't know how it all got started at all."
"For me, it's an experiment to see what people are gonna think of it."
"For the version of this CD released in Japan, a translation of the English lyrics is included, but there are lots of places where meanings are lost in the process of translation."
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"People do ask me if I think I can make it in the States."
"Since I was doing all of it myself, I had to decide where I wanted to go with the songs, how to proceed with the chords, if the sound was alright, and all that detail on my own."
"Sort of like, I have to make the Japanese lyrics really deep."
"The Japanese version comes with a translation, but that's different from the lyrics, so people could look things up and find a translation of their own if they're interested."
"The same parts of my brain get as excited as when I study bio or read a novel and write a paper on it."
"The thing is, in English I'm able to write the lyrics as I'm making the song, once I'm done with the melody."
"The world is in motion, as it seems."
"There really aren't any completely Asian people singing right now."
"When people ask me exactly how much time I spend in each country, I always tell them I have no idea."
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"Find fault with thyself rather than with others."
"Forbearance is the root of quietness and assurance forever."
"Give the peasants neither life nor death."
"Let thy step be slow and steady, that thou stumble not."
"Life is like unto a long journey with a heavy burden."
"Persuade thyself that imperfection and inconvenience are the natural lot of mortals, and there will be no room for discontent, neither for despair."
"When ambitious desires arise in thy heart, recall the days of extremity thou has passed through."
"Success is 99 percent failure."
"Success represents the 1% of your work which results from the 99% that is called failure."
"The value of life can be measured by how many times your soul has been deeply stirred."
"There is a Japanese proverb that literally goes 'Raise the sail with your stronger hand,' meaning you must go after the opportunities that arise in life that you are best equipped to do."
"I could not understand how it could move under its own power. And when it had driven past me, without even thinking why I found myself chasing it down the road, as hard as I could run."
"If you hire only those people you understand, the company will never get people better than you are. Always remember that you often find outstanding people among those you don't particularly like."
Who is
Soichiro Honda?
