I am worrying about my country. I feel I have a responsibility as a novelist to do something.

I didn't read so much Japanese literature. Because my father was a teacher of Japanese literature, I just wanted to do something else.

I don't know how many good books I still have in me; I hope there are another four or five.

I don't want to express my opinion about actual politics, because if I do, I have to be responsible for my decision.

I had no ambition to be a writer because the books I read were too good, my standards were too high.

I have no models in Japanese literature. I created my own style, my own way.

I used to run a full marathon in three hours and 25 or 26 minutes. Not any more.

I'm a writer, not a professional runner. It's fun and it helps me write. I need powerful concentration.

I'm kind of a big kettle. It takes time to get boiled, but then I'm always hot.

I'm not a fast thinker, but once I am interested in something, I am doing it for many years.

I'm not a fast thinker, but once I am interested in something, I am doing it for many years. I don't get bored.

I've been running a full marathon every year for more than 20 years, and my record is getting worse. Getting older, getting worse. It's natural.

If you cannot concentrate, you are not so happy.

In my younger days, I was trying to write sophisticated prose and fantastic stories.

Most near-future fictions are boring. It's always dark and always raining, and people are so unhappy.

Most young people were getting jobs in big companies, becoming company men. I wanted to be individual.

My priority is my books, at least at this point. What I have to do is write the narrative of this time.

There's no such thing as perfect writing, just like there's no such thing as perfect despair.

Young people these days don't trust anything at all. They want to be free.

As a novelist, you could say that I am dreaming while I am awake, and every day I can continue with yesterday's dream. Because it is a dream, there are so many contradictions and I have to adjust them to make the story work. But, in principle, the original dream does not change.