DEEP DIVE: Did a Real-Life Scarface Appear in a Toho Tokusatsu Feature?

William Tapia as Commander Webb in Sayonara Jupiter. Sayonara Jupiter © 1984, Toho Co., Ltd. 

In all the years I've researched the personalities involved with various tokusatsu works, I've never encountered a case as strange and unusual as that of William Manuel Tapia Alemán. William Tapia appears as Webb, chairman of the Solar System Development Organization (SSDO) in the Toho science-fiction epic Sayonara Jupiter (1984). He is also credited as "Capitan" in Shohei Imamura's Why Not? (1981).

However, what sets him apart from all the other foreigners who starred in Japanese SFX films is his dramatic fall from grace, as well as his meteoric rise back to prominence after the dust had settled. It's a story with a lot of twists and turns, but let's get started.

On July 18, 1990, The New York Times published this story, which broke the news to most folks around the world:

A Nicaraguan diplomat in Tokyo was arrested there yesterday on United States charges that he took part in a plot to smuggle millions of dollars of heroin into New York City.

Federal officials in New York announced the arrest of William Tapia, who was the counselor of the Nicaraguan Embassy in Tokyo. He was arrested by the Japanese authorities, acting on a request from Washington.

Mr. Tapia was dismissed from his diplomatic post just before being arrested on charges of arranging for another diplomat to smuggle 125 pounds of heroin from Thailand to New York in 1987. The heroin was said to have a street value of at least $18 million.

Sayonara Jupiter © 1984, Toho Co., Ltd.

A few months later, in October, United Press International (UPI) followed up on it with even more details:

A former Nicaraguan diplomat, described as 'almost a godfather' in the diplomatic community in the Far East, was arraigned Monday on charges he recruited fellow diplomats to smuggle heroin into the United States and Australia.

William Tapia, 47, who has lived in Tokyo for 14 years -- most as a diplomat, and most recently as the second-in-command to the Nicaraguan ambassador there -- was charged in U.S. District Court on seven counts of heroin trafficking.

The counts were contained in an indictment unsealed last July. Tapia was arrested July 17 in Tokyo, and has been held there until his extradition to New York on Friday.

The ex-diplomat pleaded not guilty, and a bail hearing was set for Thursday. He was remanded to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan until that time.

The indictment charged that Tapia on two separate occasions between April and November 1987 arranged for a Guatemalan diplomat to smuggle about 125 pounds of heroin from Thailand to New York.

The estimated street value of the 'China White' heroin was about $18 million to $21 million.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cathy Palmer, who is prosecuting the case, said Tapia used his considerable influence in the diplomatic community to recruit 'carriers' of heroin into both the United States and Australia.

'He became almost a godfather in the community,' said Palmer, 'somebody whose advice was often sought.'

Tapia has a Japanese wife and speaks fluent Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and English, she noted.

The way the transportation of the drug would work, Palmer said, is that Chinese heroin marketers would arrange for the drug to be delivered to the diplomats -- who could earn a fee of as much as $400,000 for a load of 40 kilograms simply for taking the drug through customs with their own luggage.

Because of their diplomatic status, the officials were rarely challenged for inspections. 'It was a guaranteed way' to get the drug through customs, Palmer said.

'It isn't subject to challenge.'

Tapia, prosecutors charged, himself carried a load of heroin into Australia using the method.

The usual load for a diplomat to carry would be between 31 to 34 kilograms, or 62 to 70 pounds, Palmer said.

One Guatemalan diplomat, Jorge Rueda, who transported the heroin into New York in April and October 1987 for Tapia was arrested by the Australian National Crime Authority in April 1988 on heroin importation charges, and was subsequently convicted.

He is expected to testify against Tapia, Palmer said, and is cooperating in the case. Other arrests of diplomats involved in the scam are expected, Palmer said.

If convicted on all seven counts of the federal indictment, Tapia faces a possible life term in jail and fines up to $4 million. 

Chairman Webb contemplates whether or not to plead guilty. Sayonara Jupiter © 1984, Toho Co., Ltd. 

About a year later, on September 11, 1991, The New York Times reported on Tapia's guilty plea:

A former Nicaraguan diplomat pleaded guilty in Brooklyn yesterday to Federal charges of aiding and abetting the importing of heroin, according to Federal authorities.

The defendant, William Tapia, was arrested last year in Tokyo, where he was the counselor of the Nicaraguan Embassy. Mr. Tapia was dismissed from his diplomatic post after Japanese authorities arrested him at the request of the United States. He was charged with taking part in a 1987 scheme to smuggle 125 pounds of heroin from Thailand to New York City.

Judge Eugene H. Nickerson accepted Mr. Tapia's guilty plea in a closed courtroom in Federal District Court in Brooklyn. The judge declined to say why he excluded the public and reporters from the courtroom.

The guilty plea was confirmed by Ann Driscoll, public information officer for United States Attorney Andrew J. Maloney. She said Mr. Tapia, who has been held in custody since his arrest, faced a sentence of 5 to 40 years in prison.

Two months after Tapia entered his guilty plea, future FBI director Robert S. Mueller, then assistant attorney general of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, gave a statement on November 6 before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Committee on Governmental Affairs, regarding Asian organized crime. According to his prepared remarks, Mueller testified:

In early 1990, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York obtained an indictment in Brooklyn on heroin trafficking charges against William Tapia, a senior Nicaraguan diplomat assigned to the Nicaraguan Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, in United States v. William Tapia. Tapia was accused of recruiting and using other diplomats to smuggle large quantities of heroin from Asia into the United States. On July 17, 1990, immediately after the Government of Nicaragua removed Tapia from his diplomatic post, the Japanese Government executed a U.S. request for his provisional arrest pursuant to the U.S.-Japan Extradition Treaty. Tapia was successfully extradited to the United States in October 1990, and on September 10, 1991, he pleaded guilty to a heroin importation charge. Tapia faces between 5 and 40 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $2 million. 

This important blow against the abuse of diplomatic status in furtherance of narcotics trafficking could not have been delivered absent the outstanding cooperation of Japanese law enforcement authorities. In addition, the United States received significant cooperation in this case from Hong Kong and Australia.

So, as you can see, the Bush Justice Department was riding high on the fact that it was cracking down on Sayonara Jupiter cast members. But was all as it seemed? Well, this is where stories in the American press begin to fade, and we have to turn to Nicaraguan media to pick up the slack. 

Before we proceed, you should probably bear in mind that, according to many estimates, Nicaragua is one of the least democratic countries in Latin America, so it might be best to take some of these local news reports with a grain of salt. With that in mind, let's proceed.

Sayonara Jupiter © 1984, Toho Co., Ltd.

On February 26, 2008, the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa published an exhaustive story about Tapia and his legal woes. Excerpts are contained below and have been translated into English using machine translations: 

Tapia Alemán was arrested in Tokyo on July 17, 1990 by the United States Government, accused of trafficking drugs from Thailand to New York and working with a Hong Kong mafia syndicate that recruited other diplomats for drug trafficking.

The Japanese mafia allegedly took advantage of the officials' immunity and the fact that they were exempt from having their personnel checked, in which they were estimated to be carrying an average of 28 to 32 kilograms of heroin.

The story continues:

News reports at the time said the charge was being pushed by the DEA, with support from other anti-narcotics departments in Australia, Hong Kong and the United Nations.

The news of Tapia Alemán's capture became known ten days later, making the front pages of the national newspapers of the time.

In October 1990, Japan agreed to extradite Tapia to the United States. The then foreign minister of the republic, Enrique Dreyfus, told the media that "both the Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry and the Japanese government have conclusive evidence of Tapia's participation in international drug trafficking," but that this evidence was not revealed so as not to affect the progress of the trial.

Furthermore:

The reports revealed that the US and Japanese authorities had been following Tapia since 1986, when it was suspected that he brought drugs to New York on behalf of the Japanese mafia cartel.

In addition, in 1988, a Guatemalan diplomat identified as Jorge Rueda was arrested in Australia and sentenced to sixteen years in prison for drug trafficking, and his defense declared that Tapia Alemán was his "contact."

While in prison, Tapia told the media that he suspected someone had stolen his passport to travel, because he had not left Japan on the date he was accused of.

In addition:

However, the next note of the case appears a year later, in September 1992, in the newspaper Barricada, according to which Tapia was declared innocent and would be released in ten months to return to Masatepe, his hometown, or to Japan, where he had married Hisako Susuki [sic] and had two daughters.

Additionally:

Tapia Alemán arrived in Japan as cultural attaché at the Nicaraguan Embassy in 1968, during the government of Anastasio Somoza Debayle. He resigned in 1979, but returned to the Embassy in 1986, serving as first secretary of the Embassy, a position he held before being stripped of his immunity and arrested. 

A January 28, 2021, story from the same newspaper covers much of the same ground, including this tidbit:

In 2000, Tapia was a candidate for mayor of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in Masatepe, but his diplomatic career in Japan was what his opponents used to make him lose.

You may be wondering why the Nicaraguan press was digging into a story from the late 1980s and early '90s in the year 2008 and beyond. That's because he had been appointed ambassador to Taiwan on November 21, 2007. Yes, that's right; after all that legal turmoil, which included a guilty plea, he became the country's official ambassador to Taiwan.

It seems that his previous legal troubles weren't much of an issue for his appointment. The same story reports:

Since the weekend, LA PRENSA has tried to obtain a version of events from the Foreign Minister, Samuel Santos, but it was impossible to locate him through his cell phone or the Press Office, which handles requests.

Foreign Ministry representative Vilma Aburto said she would try to obtain an official version from the foreign minister, but that he would be in a meeting "all day."

However, he said that when Tapia Alemán was appointed, Santos was consulted on the matter, but he said that he "was an excellent person, that he had not received any (bad) references (from Tapia) and that the Government (of China Taiwan) did not deny the approval."

William Tapia, circa 2016. Photo © Contact Taiwan.

According to this July 23, 2020, article in Confidencial, Tapia was removed from his post as ambassador after holding the post for roughly 13 years, though it is unclear why. Taiwan News Formosa TV suggests that it might have been because Tapia was too pro-Taiwan and that the Nicaraguan regime was looking for a change in policy.

  

William Tapia can be seen in this Contact Taiwan video below during his time as Nicaragua's ambassador to Taiwan:

So what do you think? Is this a real-life Scarface, or was he simply a victim of the machinations of the yakuza? In either case, it's fascinating to know that one of the main cast members of Sayonara Jupiter has led such a life. After reading all this, who would dare say the movie is boring?!

A New 'Godzilla 1985' Q&A on Vantage Point Interviews!

Nigel Reid. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Check out my interview with actor Nigel Reid, who played the lieutenant commander of the Soviet submarine in Godzilla 1985 (1984). The interview covers much more ground than just his turn in the Godzilla series, such as the time he worked as Ryan O'Neal's stand-in for a movie shot in Hong Kong. 

All this and more is covered in my interview on Vantage Point Interviews. Give it a look today!

Brand-New Content on Vantage Point Interviews!

Atsushi Hagiwara in May 2022. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Check out my new interview on Vantage Point Interviews with Atsushi Hagiwara, a Japanese modelmaker who has worked on numerous Godzilla, Gamera, and other tokusatsu productions since the mid-1980s. In particular, Hagiwara-san goes into detail about his work on the ambitious SFX film Sayonara Jupiter (1984). Content continues to be king on Vantage Point Interviews!

Attending a Gathering of Tokusatsu Fans and Pros!

Atsushi Hagiwara. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Friday, May 20, I attended a tokusatsu gathering of fans and professionals. Two of the pros on hand were ones I'd never met before, so I was eager to make their acquaintance.

One of them was Atsushi Hagiwara, who helped build many of the spaceships for Sayonara Jupiter (1984), one of Toho's most ambitious tokusatsu films of all time. Whatever you might say about the quality of the storytelling, no one can deny the quality of the SFX work. Hagiwara-san was surprised that I was familiar with his work, but it is most definitely great work!

Hideo Okamoto. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Also on hand was kaiju designer extraordinaire Hideo Okamoto. His credits are legendary, but his best-known projects are Yamato Takeru (1994), Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), Rebirth of Mothra (1996), Rebirth of Mothra II (1997), and Godzilla 2000 (1999). 

I didn't have much of a chance to chat with him, so I just expressed my admiration for his work. He seemed pleased by that.

Overall, it was a fun evening, and the recently released Shin Ultraman was a hot topic of conversation.  A lot of interesting opinions were shared!

Saying "Sayonara" to Jupiter!

 Eiichi Asada (left) and Kunio Miyoshi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Sunday, September 1, I had the privilege of taking in a screening of Toho's Sayonara Jupiter (1984) in 35mm. Naturally, I'd only ever seen it on home video prior to this screening, so I was looking forward to taking in all the details that you can only see in 35mm screenings. Naturally, the special effects looked great, and despite a few clunky effects, they really hold up after all these years. They do fall short of those in 2001: A Space Odyssey, but not by that much.

One such detail I noticed was that the last name written on Carlos' name tag changes at one point. At the beginning and end of the film, the character's name is listed as Angeles. In the middle of the movie, however, the name on his badge was completely different, and it was so unusual that I can't remember the exact spelling of it. (Suffice it to say, though, it was nothing like "Angeles.") I also noticed for the first time that Webb's initials are E. T. (Gee, I wonder where they could've gotten the idea to use those letters...)

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

 Eiichi Asada has enjoyed a lengthy career in Japanese SFX, dating back to the early 1970s. He was an assistant director on Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), Submersion of Japan (1973), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974), Espy (1974), Conflagration (1975), Zero Pilot (1976), The War in Space (1977), Deathquake (1980), The Imperial Navy (1981), Sayonara Jupiter, and Godzilla 1985 (1984), among others. He was the special effects director on Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003) and Godzilla: Final Wars (2004).

Kunio Miyoshi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Kunio Miyoshi was an assistant director on Conflagration and Deathquake, as well as chief assistant director on Sayonara Jupiter, Reiko (1991), Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993), Orochi the Eight-Headed Dragon (1994), Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla (1994), Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), and Rebirth of Mothra (1996). He went on to direct Rebirth of Mothra II (1997).

What a treat it was to see Sayonara Jupiter on the big screen -- and in the presence of such great guests!

NEW INTERVIEWS POSTED! Vantage Point Interviews Update!

Actress Yukie Kagawa talks about her career in tokusatsu. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Several new interviews have been posted at Vantage Point Interviews. First, actress Rachel Huggett reminisces about her starring role in the ambitious Toho sci-fi epic Sayonara Jupiter (1984).

Next, actress Yukie Kagawa recalls working for multiple Japanese studios in everything from the Showa Gamera series to Super Sentai at Toei.

Actor Shinichi Yanagisawa shares his acting memories. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Finally, actor Shinichi Yanagisawa discusses his acting career at length in an interview with many rare photos. Yanagisawa-san is best known as Miyamoto from The X from Outer Space (1967).

More interviews to come -- stay tuned!

Koichi Kawakita: Giant Among Giants

Special effects director Koichi Kawakita poses with some friends at the Godzilla tokusatsu exhibition in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, in August. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

On December 5 (which, as it turns out, was his birthday), longtime Toho SFX director Koichi Kawakita suddenly passed away at the age of 72. A ubiquitous presence at various fan gatherings in Japan, Mr. Kawakita was a special guest at G-FEST this July in Chicago. Suffice it to say, Mr. Kawakita was a beloved figure on both sides of the Pacific.

Mr. Kawakita flashes his familiar smile while addressing fans in Tokyo. Photo by Brett Homenick.

As most Godzilla fans know, Mr. Kawakita directed the SFX scenes for every Godzilla movie from Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) through Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995).

Mr. Kawakita joined Toho in the early 1960s, working on the lavish sci-fi epic Gorath (1962), among many other films. In the 1970s, he worked on a variety of films and television programs, such as Ultraman Ace (1972-73), Zone Fighter (1973), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974), The Last Days of Planet Earth (1974), Zero Pilot (1976), The War in Space (1977), and the Shaw Brothers' Mighty Peking Man (1977). In the 1980s, Mr. Kawakita directed the dazzling effects in Sayonara Jupiter (1984) and Gunhed (1989). Following his retirement from Toho, Mr. Kawakita founded his own production company, Dream Planet Japan.

Akira Takarada and Yuriko Hoshi join Koichi Kawakita onstage at a signing event in celebration of Godzilla's 60th anniversary. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I've been fortunate to meet Mr. Kawakita at several events in Japan. We even rode together on the same flights to and from Chicago last summer for G-FEST. (On the way to Chicago, Mr. Kawakita and his family sat just a row or two behind Katsuhiko Sasaki, Tomoko Ai, and me. Because I was busy with the other guests at G-FEST, I didn't have a chance to talk with Mr. Kawakita at the show until the Sunday night convention staff dinner. With my friend Yasushi's assistance, I was able to ask Mr. Kawakita many questions about his career.

Thank you for the wonderful memories, Mr. Kawakita. May you rest in peace.

KOICHI KAWAKITA COMES TO TOWN! G-FEST XXI Adds the Famed Toho SFX Director to Its Growing Guest Lineup!

SFX director Koichi Kawakita speaks about all things Godzilla at a talk show event in Tokyo. Photo by Brett Homenick.

G-FEST XXI is pleased to announce the return of legendary SFX director KOICHI KAWAKITA to the growing lineup of celebrity guests from Japan. Mr. Kawakita directed the SFX scenes for every Godzilla movie from Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) through Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995). Mr. Kawakita won the Japanese Academy Award for his SFX work on Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.

Mr. Kawakita joined Toho in the early 1960s, working on the lavish sci-fi epic Gorath (1962), among many other films. In the 1970s, he worked on a variety of films and television programs, such as Ultraman Ace (1972-73), Zone Fighter (1973), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974), The Last Days of Planet Earth (1974), Zero Pilot (1976), The War in Space (1977), and the Shaw Brothers' Mighty Peking Man (1977). In the 1980s, Mr. Kawakita directed the dazzling effects in Sayonara Jupiter (1984) and Gunhed (1989). Following his retirement from Toho, Mr. Kawakita founded his own production company, Dream Planet Japan.

Mr. Kawakita will join Katsuhiko Sasaki and Tomoko Ai in Chicago from July 11 through 13 at G-FEST XXI.

Sakyo Komatsu, 1931-2011

The late Sakyo Komatsu (with his friend and associate Kenju Shimomura) pose with a copy of G-FAN #80, in which his interview with yours truly appears, in 2007. Photo courtesy of Kenju Shimomura.

The celebrated author Sakyo Komatsu died on July 26, 2011, of pneumonia, reports The Japan Times. He was 80 years old.

Often called the Arthur C. Clarke of Japan, Mr. Komatsu wrote the novels on which the movies Submersion of Japan (1973 and 2006), Espy, Virus (1980), and Sayonara Jupiter were based. Mr. Komatsu even had a large hand in the production of the film version of Sayonara Jupiter.

In honor of his passing, I'm posting the interview I conducted with Mr. Komatsu (by correspondence) in 2007. The translation was provided by Kenju Shimomura.

Brett Homenick: What got you interested in the science fiction genre?
Sakyo Komatsu: Japan has experienced two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. I knew the word “atomic bomb” when I was only ten years old. There was a description about atomic bomb in the novel which I have read in my favorite newspaper for children. When I first read that, I thought it was nonsense and complete nonsense. But four years after, I was shocked to find that this atomic bomb was actually dropped on Japan and taken thousands of life. I think that was the first time I started to feel interest in the relation between imagination and reality.

After I grew up, I was inspired by literature. However, I have soon faced the problem. I found it difficult to express what I really feel by writing mainstream literature. And then I have read The Prize of Peril by Robert Sheckley. I was shocked. It really opened my eyes. I have realized that philosophical problems, emotions, and psychology cannot be separated from the modern society, and modern society also cannot be formed without science and technology.

When I think about the meaning of my existence, science fiction is something that enables me to express what myself and mankind is. And science fiction united my interest in science and human imagination without discrepancy.

By the way, I majored in Italian literature in university. I think Piradello, whom I have chosen as a theme for my thesis, and literature such as Divine Comedy by Dante have a strong essence of science fiction. I like this kind of literature which will give pleasure to the readers by telling tales with grand scale imagination.

BH: How did you get started as a novel writer?
SK: In 1903, the Wright brothers' first airplane, which looked like a monster paper craft, flew in the air. Two years later in 1905, Einstein presented his special theory of relativity. Forty years after, in 1945, B29 bomber plane flew to Japan and dropped an atomic bomb. The B29 bomber and the atomic bomb can trace their origins back to 1903 and 1905. The creative power of mankind is considerable. But just like this example, it can create something unpredictable when they are combined. The creative power made by mankind also affects mankind. Taking all these aspects into consideration, I wanted to think about what mankind is. And writing a story about mankind was the best way to understand mankind.

BH: What did you think of the 1973 movie version of your novel Nippon Chinbotsu (a.k.a. Submersion of Japan)?
SK: I started to write Nippon Chinbotsu in 1964, and it took 9 years to complete.
Let me discuss why I wrote that novel. Until 15th of August 1945, when the Showa Emperor officially declared the end of the war to the Japanese nation, all the Japanese, especially a teenager like me, believed in governmental slogans such as “honorable death for all hundred million Japanese nations” or “decisive battle is when Americans landed on mainland Japan.” We all made up our mind for the coming death. However, once the war was over, Japanese overcame the consequence of defeat so easily, and by the 1960s, people were happy about the rapid economical growth of the country. When I saw those circumstances, I wanted to reconsider the meaning of what “Japan” is and what “Japanese” are. That is why I wrote Nippon Chinbotsu.

I was quite surprised when Toho had completed the film just after the book was published. The movie was quite faithful to the original story, and I was quite satisfied. I know that the movie was heavily re-edited and made into a disaster movie and released in U.S. with the title of Tidal Wave. However, the original story depicts the natural and calamity environments of Japan and the Japanese way of thinking which is based on such environment.

BH: Similarly, what did you think of Kinji Fukasaku's adaption of Fukkatsu no hi (a.k.a. Virus, 1980)?
SK: This is one of my favorite movies. The staff went all the way to Antarctica to shoot the film, used a real submarine, and famous overseas actors and actresses participated in the film. The contrast between human drama and vast natural view was well depicted. I also liked the visual beauty of the film.

BH: How did you get the job to co-direct the movie version of your novel Sayonara Jupiter?
SK: I would like you to read the article in this issue for the details. (Kenju Shimomura offers a complete account of the making of Sayonara Jupiter in G-FAN #80.) When I was asked by Tomoyuki Tanaka, the producer of Godzilla and Nippon Chinbotsu (1973 version), to make a story like Star Wars for his movie, I had a feeling that I did not want to do a rip-off. I felt, if I could make a movie set in space, I wanted to make something which can make the audience feel the theme of “Universe and mankind” visually. I have assembled various Japanese science fiction writers to create the film. Eventually I decided to be an executive producer of the film. I thought I have a responsibility to all the science fiction writers who gave me ideas and advice.

BH: What needed to be changed from the novel when making the film?
SK: Due to the limited time and budget, the scenes which were set on the moon were all cut out. Also scenes on Earth were cut out except for the Jupiter Beach sequence. As for the story, the past of Eiji and Maria, political struggles, were all cut out.

BH: How did you and your co-director Koji Hashimoto share directing duties?
SK: I tried not to say my opinion in the actual shooting of the film. I only said my opinion when director Koji Hashimoto needed my opinion to make his decision.

BH: What did you find easy and difficult about directing Sayonara Jupiter?
SK: Sayonara Jupiter was the first featured Japanese film to use computer graphics. In those days, it took 1 million yen to create 1 second computer graphic image. It was hard but also fun to think out how we can reduce the price for computer graphics without losing its quality. Also, it was the first attempt to bring the video camera into the shooting studio. Video cameras were still rare at that time. It was very useful to check the position of props, etc., from cut to cut.

BH: Do you have any interesting memories from the set of Sayonara Jupiter that you would like to share?
SK: I was present when the soundtrack music was recorded. It was interesting to listen to what the composer was saying to the orchestra. I was impressed that this talented composer also had a talent in expressing himself by words.

I wrote a lyric for the song used in the film and asked musician to compose a melody for it. I did this work together with musician staying overnight in the lodge. I was very happy when our approach toward the music was suddenly united and completed the music in that very night.

BH: What did you think of the completed film?
SK: As for the special effects, it expressed the vast scale and beauty of universe very well. I think the style of special effects we have achieved in Sayonara Jupiter was innovative for the Japanese film at that time. As for the live action scenes, I think we dealt very well with non-Japanese casts as well, and designs of interior sets were also wonderful. For me, the best achievement was the process of making film. I got lots of ideas and suggestions from various people, and I also shared a hardship with these people. As for the completed film, it is true that I had to compromise a lot. But all the people who participated in this movie did their best and their effort is reflected in the completed film. Most of all, the theme of the movie, which is “Courage and sadness of mankind which has to go ahead into the universe,” was visually depicted well.

BH: Do you have any closing remarks for readers of G-FAN magazine?
SK: I understand that one of the motivations of this magazine is Godzilla. I recognize that Japanese special effects (tokusatsu) films were influenced by classic American films like King Kong and Lost World. As for our future, let's exchange ideas and opinions actively in order to make a high quality science fiction movies.

(Translation by Kenju Shimomura. Special thanks to Peggy Rae Sapienza, Atsushi Morioka, Tamie Inoue, and Hiroaki Inoue of Nippon Worldcon.)