Japanese directors understand the power of close-ups, which they use sparingly.

In theory, Japanese directors are endowed with the ultimate legal authority over corporate affairs.

A Japanese director can show a single image and know that the audience will immediately understand the meaning of time, place and background.

Ninagawa feels that this may be easier for a Japanese director.

"What if a Japanese contemporary director had made it?"

The critics charge that other Japanese directors are not taken with the same kind of seriousness.

Six other Japanese directors followed him off the board.

Since recreating such a battle is extremely ambitious, the Japanese director doesn't plan to produce his project until 2009.

This is important to a Japanese director who has a large and loyal following on the European film festival circuit.

Even the Japanese directors often do not scrutinize the faces too closely.