Tomonobu Itagaki, creator of jiggly fighting franchise Dead or Alive and the upcoming Devil's Third, is keen on getting into Japanese politics. Oh, he also thinks the country's game industry is dying and that Japan failed to import Western capitalism.
After agreeing that the Japanese game industry is dying, Itagaki tells Edge Magazine, "Japan failed to import capitalism, or rather, it failed to understand the lessons of capitalism, of the free market economy." He's not just talking about the domestic game industry, but what has happened to Japan since the 1960s.
From the 1960s through the 1980s, growth in Japan exploded. The 1990s were the country's "lost decade", and Itagaki believes the older generations did not build the proper infrastructure so that society could continue expanding and evolving.
"Listen, we're talking about something really important – politics – so we have to make this really clear," Itagaki continues. "Maybe you should ask a question like: 'So, are you interested in becoming a political candidate?'"
Edge Magazine asks Itagaki the question, and he replies, "Yes. There have been some offers for me to become a political candidate in Japan, and we do need a strong leader."
Itagaki, a graduate of Japan's Waseda University, is no dummy. He's a sharp, sharp guy. But with that hair and those skinny jeans, he doesn't quite fit the navy-blue-suit mold of Japanese prime ministers.
"Japan is such a hot country, and yet all the current leaders wear suits all the time," Itagaki continues. "Does that make any more sense? I'm much more picky about how I dress. But, you know, there are a lot of things I haven't done in this industry, so I'll probably stay in it until I die."
Wait. Did Itagaki just decide not to enter into Japanese politics because he's "picky" about the clothes he wears?
Interview: Tomonobu Itagaki [Edge Magazine]