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We are following America, in good ways and bad. The good thing is that people are becoming more independent. It used to be impossible for people to get promoted in a company unless they were the right age, now matter how talented they were. Now that's changing. It's more competitive. Someone with the right skills can advance. But the bad thing is that we are losing all respect for older people. We are copying everything about America just because it is American.
I was lucky enough to start working in the U.S. when I was 17. By getting an external view of Japan, I have learned how important it is to hold on to your identity while accepting other cultures. In American film, Asian women usually are cast as either prostitutes or bitchy dragon ladies. This bothers me. An American director offered me a typical Asian role, as a bitchy type. I told him I didn't want to be laughed at. I want to play a character I can sympathize with. He decided to go the "traditional" way, so I didn't take the part.
Usually, we compromise too much of ourselves. What is missing in young people, I think, is the ability to establish a relationship with somebody without trying to copy that person, or comparing whether you are richer or poorer, or better or worse. We need to love ourselves, take pride in our homeland and establish fair and equal relationships with people from all over the world. You can accept someone without losing your own identity. We need the confidence with which to see the good qualities hidden in our history and tell the world about them. We need a flexible mind with which we can learn about mistakes in our history and turn them into positive lessons.
I want Japan to prosper as a peace-loving superpower, a great nation that can love itself and other nations, too. As a young Japanese, I hope I can help our country to reach that goal. I came to America because there is more opportunity here in film. But I don't think it always has to be that way. I am just working here. I haven't abandoned my identity. My heart is in Japan.
Youki Kudoh, 28, won international recognition for her role in the 1989 Jim Jarmusch film Mystery Train. She will be seen next in the upcoming adaptation of the American novel Snow Falling on Cedars
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THIS WEEK'S TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Young Japan Home
The Me Generation:
The country's privileged youth are struggling to define what they want. Their efforts--both frivolous and fundamental--are already beginning to transform the culture
Day in the Life:
What a 17-year-old girl does--and buys
Culture Club:
Tokyo has taken over as the source of what's hip and happening for the rest of East Asia
Sound Factory:
An Okinawa school turns out stars
Talk Talk:
What teens are chatting about online
Not Playing Ball:
A fresh generation is starting to shake up the hidebound world of Japanese baseball
Outside the Box:
Breaking the education straitjacket
Viewpoint:
Actress Youki Kudoh says respect the old ways
Viewpoint:
Parents should examine their own ethics
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