When you are completely satisfied with what you have made, you're pretty much done as a director. So when that happens, that'll sort of be the end.

On the times when I used to make movies that were with a lower budget, nobody was expecting it to be a hit, and nobody was paying attention to what I was doing, and it was a free type of creative process. So, one way to reset myself is to go back to that kind of moviemaking.

I don't mind ratings boards. As a viewer, you have the right not to see a film.

You can't really make something or make a movie and feel all through the process that it's a painful thing. It's not possible to do that.

I'm happy that my films were discovered by chance by foreign film festivals. That makes me realise more that there is a world outside Japan too. For me, it's an occasion to meet many people and to experience directly the response of international audiences to my films. But for me as a director, my attitude towards making films hasn't changed with the fame. I feel it's not good to change as a person anyway

I go to the dentist, not a shrink.

It's not really important to make skillful movies. I think expressing yourself really well, skill-wise, is not as important. I want it to be sort of raw and rough but new and fun to watch.