Sheryl Crow, musician

I interviewed Sheryl Crow at the inaugural MTV Japan Awards 2002 in the press conference room. Although there were around 30 members of the press in the room, my greater willingness to 'pitch in' led to me having an almost free run at a number of the big names rolled past us that night. The event was held on Friday, the 24th of May.

Hajime Yatsuka (八束はじめ), architect

Back in 2011, the Mori Art Museum held a big exhibition on the Metabolist Movement, perhaps the most interesting school of Japanese architecture. I covered the show for a couple of publications, and decided to do an interview with the show's main curator, the architect and architectural theorist, Hajime Yatsuka. Born in 1948 and educated at the University of Tokyo, Yatsuka studied under Kenzo Tange and Sachio Otani, and worked for Arata Isozaki before setting up his own office in Tokyo in 1984. Even if not famous in his right, he is at least "famous by association" and well known in the architectural world for his academic work and 'deconstructionist' buildings, which are said to be influenced by French philosophy. Our interview, which was a set of questions emailed off, focused almost entirely on Metabolism. Despite the way in which the interview was obtained it actually reads like a face-to-face conversation.

Hiroshi Sugimoto, photographic artist

In 2012, I had a face-to-face interview with Hiroshi Sugimoto in Tokyo, Sugimoto is a well-known photographic artist. One of his pictures was even used for the most recent U2 album cover. The interview was for an article I was writing for his exhibition "From Naked to Clothed." The exhibition took place at his then new Tokyo atelier. Also present was his assistant/Tokyo representative and a young lady whom he introduced as his niece. This is the first 20 minutes of a 55 minute interview. Much of the conversation is unintelligible without visual references, which I will someday add.

Tomohiko Yamanashi, architect

On the 17th of February, 2012, I went to the offices of Nikken Sekkei, a major architectural firm, in downtown Tokyo to interview Tomohiko Yamanashi, the main architect of the Hoki Museum for an article I was writing for Architecture Week. The interview took place in a windowless meeting room and lasted around 75 minutes. Mr. Yamanashi spoke English throughout. Here are the first 54 minutes of the interview.

Noppon Brothers, mascots

The Noppon Brothers are the mascots of Tokyo's landmark Tokyo Tower. I interviewed them in November 2006 by email. My questions were translated into Japanese and their answers were translated into English. The whole thing was edited to make it look like they had been interviewed face-to-face. YNB is the younger Noppon brother (red) and ONB is the older one (blue).

CBL: What is your job?

YNB: We are the Tokyo Tower mascots. Our duties are to let as many people as possible know that Tokyo Tower is a fun and nice place.

CBL: Is it true you are both twins?

YNB: Yes, that is true.

CBL: So, apart from wearing different colored clothes, is there any other way of telling you apart?

YNB: As you can see, my older brother has a band aid on his forehead.

CBL: You both seem very tall. How tall are you exactly?

YNB: We are 2 meters and 23 centimeters.

CBL: How old are you?

YNB: We are 10 years old.

CBL: Isn’t that a little young to be working full-time as a mascot for Tokyo Tower?

ONB: It has nothing to do with the age. The heart is the most important.

CBL: Do you go to school?

ONB: Tokyo Tower is like a school. We learn many things from the visitors every day.

CBL: You both seem to have a very odd shape. Is this an entirely natural shape or is it the result of plastic surgery?　

ONB: Are you kidding? Of course this is natural. How could this be plastic surgery?

CBL: How can I get to look as cool as you?

ONB: Coolness is in the heart, not how you look. The feeling of caring about others is important.

CBL: What is your favorite attraction in Tokyo Tower?

YNB: I like the glass floor on the 1st floor of the observation deck. Every time I look down my knees shake.

CBL: What is the greatest thing about Tokyo Tower?

YNB: From the opening 48 years ago to this day, Tokyo Tower has been the tallest free-standing iron building. Also, as of this year, September 29, the number of visitors reached 150 million, which means, since the entire Japanese population is about 120 million, almost everybody has visited Tokyo Tower at least once.

CBL: What will the Noppon brothers be doing this Xmas season?

YNB: Taking commemorative pictures around the Christmas tree and welcoming visitors by shaking their hands.

John Bean, politician

In 2012, over a period of several weeks, I interviewed veteran British nationalist John Bean by email. Mr. Bean, who was aged 85 at the time, spoke about a lengthy career in politics and activism, stretching from the late 1940s to the present. He also recounted his experiences and impressions of a number of well known figures on the nationalist side of politics, including Sir Oswald Mosley, A.K. Chesterton, Enoch Powell, John Tyndall and Nick Griffin.

Herbie Hancock, musician

I interviewed Herbie Hancock by telephone on the 19th of July, 2007. We spoke for around half an hour about his forthcoming Quartet tour to Japan, his then soon-to-be-released, Joni-Mitchell-inspired album “River: The Joni Letters,” and his Buddhist faith.