Posted on May 24th, 2021
Find a complete transcript of this video below.
I’ve known you a long time. And I think we’re pretty good friends at least from my perspective. Oh yeah. You’re a successful model. Sorry about that.
You’ve been successful in a lot of different avenues when I met you you were producing and you were just getting out of your acting career basically or you’re still acting but you were kind of moving more into thing and now you’ve gone into I would say international business basically.
So tell us what you’re doing these days and tell us about your journey.
Yeah so I moved to the United States about over 20 years ago from Japan. So basically starting everything from the scratch not only a business but a second chapter of my life here without no language. no friends no place to stay.
A lot of even immigrants can relate to that. so I started out as a as an actor. I was in the movie the last samurai and the Disney channels when they were homecoming warrior in 2004 and six and my wife and I started a production company called the Shinnecock entertainment.
I think I was like a 22 or 23 years old. I mean I didn’t even know how to run a company back then but it was okay. It was it’s I love challenge.
I think that’s probably when I met you because you were just net off the ground so. Wow. Yeah. And then how did you how did you get that part in the last smer? Cause I guess that’s what people would know most.
You know if you’re a kid you probably know Wendy Wu but but everybody knows the last samurai with Tom Cruise.
Yeah. I auditioned for it. I was at my friend’s house trying to make more official website back then trying to take off ground. And I found the open casting call on the internet.
I didn’t have Asia and I didn’t have a lawyer anybody back then. And my only experienced in acting was a student film and a music video as a background. I just submitted myself and I was a us national champion in Kung Fu back then. So I submitted my photo and I went to casting. She loved it. Went back in.
I was meeting with the two producers in the second audition they asked they asked me so many questions. So they say associate what are you doing in the United States? You’re not from here. Yeah. I’m from Japan. I’m international student. I’m attending at the LICC. It was on the city calls.
Oh okay. Are you available in two months? It’s like what? Yeah I I should be I did a lot. I did another procedure of getting absent from college and I got the part and the next thing I knew I was having a dinner with Tom cruise and it’s WIC and all the producers and writers and and a wonderful Japanese famous cast.
That was the only unknown Japanese cast who was cast out of Los Angeles. Everybody else was cast from Japan. And my part was auditioned for over a hundred thousand people around the world.
For many many months. They couldn’t find my part. And I came in and out of nowhere on t-shirt and I just spoke American dream.
Yeah. That’s an amazing story. Speaking of American dream I always you know I have nieces and nephews and and a lot of young people that that are in my family and I listened to them talk about how difficult it is to make it in America. And I explained to them you know because my family is originally from Eritrea you know and I still have family over there that they don’t realize how how good they have it. So when you say American dream you know as a person that grew up in Japan which Japan itself is an amazing country what to you is the is the American dream
American dream is a dream that you are always dreaming to achieve. Like no matter where you are but America has so much freedom to pursue many things in in in life. Many countries kind of restricting what you want to achieve because of the culture barrier or the religions.
There’s so many things that you don’t have much freedom to pursue whatever you want. And America you just come here. I came here with no friends no money no place with only a dream that I had was only 18 years old. And the only thing that really takes you to achieve your American dream is your dedication.
You know you have to perseverance through like you have to really not give up and just keep going. and also American dream is something that you can you can try many things. You can challenge many things for what you want to do. And here like I came here to to pursue my acting but I found other American dreams that I didn’t even know when I was younger.
I mean when you’re young what do you know about life? What do you know about businesses out there? So yeah that’s that’s what I think. So I I’m still in pursuit of my American dream became American dreams rather than right. American. Yeah.
That’s that’s awesome. you know when when I was a kid and this might just be my perspective so I don’t I don’t you know I haven’t taken a poll or anything like that but when I was a kid it seemed like being an entrepreneur was like this amazing thing that people strive for and wanted to do. But lately it seems like being an entrepreneur is is is a problem.
Have you seen a change in how Americans think about the American dream and being an entrepreneur from when you got here which was what 25 years ago maybe 20 years ago to to now.
Yeah. I mean a lot of things have changed in over 20 years. Obviously technology has changed. We didn’t have a social media we didn’t have an app. we didn’t have a lot of startup companies that are successful back at back then. And he has to be kind of older to be successful to do a bigger deals. Did matter a little bit but today you can be 16 17 years old with amazing ideas with amazing apps amazing. the startups the ideas then you can become pretty successful.
It doesn’t really matter. That’s what I really like about America. Sometimes. It’s all about your ideas what you have your talent like for example Japan if you’re 18 with amazing ideas amazing IPS it doesn’t matter. Oh you’re still like 10. You don’t know what you’re doing. I didn’t know. Kind of listen to you.
They’re not going to buy your company. They look at you as a kid. That’s not what it is in the United States. You have what it takes. You have what people want. You can become multi-millionaire multi-billionaire in in your lifetime. That’s what I like about America.
So I think what you’re saying is that there’s a lot more opportunities here than than in most places even Japan which you know Japan has. So first-world and even things that I see in Japan that I go wow this really makes the United States look like a third world country with some of the technology they have over there. But but you’re saying that over there even someone with the best ideas isn’t going to get listened to or isn’t going to be able to produce something.
So then where does Japan get such great technology and great ideas?
So they’re very systemized culture. So your path is already set up for you here. You have to be innovative to create your own path. Japan. When you go to high school college your path is already there for you. Their big dream is to work for big corporations.
Big corporations are the ones that have all the great IPS. And so people are very comfortable getting paid salary and because it’s much easier for their own lives. And there’s no culture that people young people start their own startup companies.
Because again it is just a culture that they will look at you or judge you based on your age. so that’s the big barrier and here working for a big corporation is good but you have another opportunity to start up. Your own company becomes successful. Japan just just doesn’t have they just a business culture there.
So that’s interesting that you say that. So how did you how did you end up so differently? So first of all being first of all just deciding to be moved to America and being an actor is something different.
But since I’ve known you you’ve owned your own businesses and done your own thing I’ve never seen you with a job. And actually I’ve never seen your lovely wife Carolyn at the job I’ve always done well for yourselves. Just figuring it out for yourself. So what what do you think made you so different?
Yeah that’s a really good question. So my parents but you know my parents are not entrepreneurial at all. My my dad is a local government employee. My mom is a caregiver looking after older people. And my brother has nothing to do with starting up a company.
So I just came out of nowhere probably. I was so influenced by American movies back then. My dad is a huge fan of American movies. So I grew up watching it middle middle school and high school all the way but starting a company.
It wasn’t my my priority. When I moved to the United States I nothing my focus was acted to become a Hollywood actor successful Hollywood actor but I met my wife and yellow light in Birmingham Alabama actually Huntsville Alabama Japanese Colbia made in Alabama. my wife really she was always encouraged to start start our own business.
So her dad was was a very successful Colombian businessman importing all the medical equipment. So when we are younger acting show business is not really stable. So in 2005 we just talked about why don’t we start our own company and start building it because it takes time to build a company. And at the time I was already in the Last Samurai and then I was coming out of Disney channel.
I have a pretty good opportunities to work with a different investors to make our own show and call me book and become a content creator. So I think my wife was very influenced me to start start our own company. And then we started a nonprofit. So it just and then I just fell in love with doing doing what you want to do.
Yeah that’s interesting. What was most interesting to me is is that you have a different perspective because most of the clients that I do deal with are having a hard time being entrepreneurs in California and are looking to move elsewhere or looking for other ways to you know to do business in California.
Yet you come from a culture that’s even more restrictive than California and then you’re doing business in California. So for you this probably isn’t you know all the restrictions that are in California that aren’t in other places in the United States probably don’t seem that bad to you or what do you think of that?
Yeah because of the nature of my business it doesn’t really matter where I am because most of my businesses are focused on international businesses. So yes it doesn’t matter in terms of taxes you know California versus Texas obviously like Texas is more friendly in business and California may have so much legal issues if you do something wrong but it’s it’s about also I keep it my business integrity too.
Like you have to be honest you have to be transparent in business. So whoever you’re doing a business I’m very picky who I do a business with. And I I choose a character over people’s talents or what they can offer because business is something that you’re gonna spend. It’s like a marriage almost like you know you have to really like the person or they have to like you and they have to we have to trust each other.
So it’s very important for me to to choose who I want to work with. Even with a business match a business I do with an noticed it’s an and Asia and in South America I talked to the person first and see can I really trust this person or this company or the group of people the team that they have to do a business.
if it’s a single transaction it’s fine. But again I come from Japan which is based on a trust the business is based on a trust and the relationships.
So I have to value in me. When I do a business building the relationships then you talk about a business like Japan. I didn’t when I when I meet people a successful business person I don’t ask for a business right away on the first meeting. I build a relationship with them.
And I know after spending a few months or a year or two I w I usually wait for the person to ask me so what kind of business do you do in a what what are you selling right now? It ha you have happened to me many many times and whatever I do even if I have a really sloppy products or whatever the products that doesn’t sell the person will buy from you because they can trust me.
They will hire me or hire our company to do a business is because we trust each other versus the United States is very different relationship. Why why would I have to spend a time with the person for a year before I talk about the business let’s get to the contract and let’s get it good.
Let’s get to that agreement. So I have two inside of my car. I’m kind of a hybrid person in business. I can go American way. I can do Asian.
Well I actually think that part of the Asian the way Asians to business I think is really good. You know I had a really good friend that went to China early on and he came back and I always considered myself a fairly good networker but he taught me the Chinese way of networking.
And it it was exponential business versus what I was doing the American way is to meet people and say how are you? What can you do for me? Right. And you move on. Right. But the Chinese way is to get to know the person and get to know all the people that they have that they have contacts with. And then that person vouches for you. And then you get business from all. So it could be a doorman or it could be a CEO you know it’s it’s you just don’t know who they’re connected to.
And once I started doing that I not only did I have better relationships but I also did better business. I really do like that about Asian culture. and what you were saying about trust.
It really took me a little bit of time to figure that piece out because I always figured I would do business with whatever’s com whoever’s convenient right now and then work it out later. but you know there’s there’s that saying about doing doing a deal with the devil you know you’re never gonna you’re never gonna win you know so took a few lps to learn that before I you know realized.
So I know that’s an Asian thing too and I didn’t learn it from Asians but it took a took a few beatings to to figure that piece out.
Yeah. Chinese way. It is same as Japanese way. I think it’s a pretty similar in all Asian countries.
Yeah. And and what about what you’re into now? What’s what’s the what’s the big business cause I know you have several of them and even one with me but what’s the big one that that really takes up your time?
Yeah. Two things obviously as a producers we’ve been producing video games one for console one for app. And we’ve been working on a series of new comic book series based basically to build different IPS because we were told by the studio executive in Hollywood that create your own comic book even if it’s not published because studio will buy all the IPS of comic book.
So we’ve been building different IPS. And also we are our company is hire by another company or individual who is interested in building their own IPS. So we’re pretty good at creating comic books and and we do it we’re doing for that.
And threefold movies and development. And we we we’re always raising money. And it just came back from China and Hong Kong and meeting different investors.
That’s one business entertainment business movie television show call me book anime. I mean animated big big things. And the digital stickers for line app. So that little digital stamp that you send in a Mo mobile challenge system we produced that for our clients. It’s the align app has over a 1 billion users. So it’s probably the largest or one of the largest apps.
So we create digital stickers for us clients. The second business is something that I’ve been doing over 10 years which is a bridge in businesses. Mostly U S Japan. If you start a company is interested in doing business in Japan they contact me but I only I only take referrals. So I’ve done nanotechnology agricultural and nuclear energy.
I’ve done shop demo deal. I’ve done coffee bean deals. I’ve done a Mo a lot of different businesses to Japan and vice versa. So one of my consulting client is Ian group which is the largest Asian retail company.
They have the largest shopping mall insurance company. They’re a global Fortune 500 companies. So we I do advices for them for for the United States for introducing new businesses to Japan. And I’ve done because my wife is Colombian. I’ve taken the most famous coffee from Colombia who is Valdez to Japan. So we’ve done many different types of businesses here.
That’s amazing. Yeah. Wow. I didn’t know that about the coffee stuff. And then you also do a lot of stuff with you know with charities and all of these things. So describe that because you know besides doing good for the world it’s also very good for business to be involved in charity.
Yeah. Charity is something that I didn’t plan to start back then back in 2004 right after the last samurai I was kind of encouraged to do is a nonprofit charity work. My first charity effort was teaching karate at the boys and girls club of American and Burbank after school program. And people contacting me to support their their own charities and Texas Houston.
I used to go to Houston all the time for checking Norris martial arts program and the Washington DC. and I started helping homeless in downtown LA skid row and getting people’s use closed and gather and making a handmade sandwiches. And and that’s how we kind of started our own foundation 2008.
So I’ve done charity work for four years myself cell 2004 2008 2008 my wife and I started our foundation called Claremont international foundation give starting helping homeless in downtown LA our neighbors because I mean LA then we we’ve done a us martial arts festival in red on the beach with all the martial arts grand masters from around the world present in 15 countries and a disaster F words and young leadership program.
Women’s empowerment people to people exchanges. And I just loved I just loved doing charity work helping our community because with that I can’t do things myself.
So it’s important for me to to have that side of me helping people with no intention of getting anything return business. Yes. Give and give and take but charity you give you give. so I I think about I always it really makes me feel good about doing that.
Yeah. And then you have that. Yeah that’s great. and then you have the sister cities you’re involved in that and then some NGOs and a bunch of I can’t remember if it was the world health organization or if it was the which which big organization are you.
Yeah so we are involved with a Mo multiple international organizations. one of them we signed our agreement with is United nations population fund. they’re all about reproductive health and the woman’s empowerment gender equality gender based violence program. So we we became partner with UNF. UNF is not a nations population fund.
It’s one of the largest UN agency based in New York. we became I was also a national board member of sister cities and a national doing lots of sister city exchanges. I don’t know if you know about our sister city but since the city is all about people to people exchange among cities.
So you a city has different city sister cities with a different cities in other countries and they do youth exchange educational exchange economic exchange. There’s so many things going on. so we focus on building people to people ties through through different programs. Okay.
That’s that’s all awesome. So before we wrap it up cause we have about five minutes here. I’m going to ask you a question not related and then because I think people would want to hear this they’re interested and then I’ll and then I’ll ask you a question related to this. So you mentioned earlier in the video that the sit down with Tom cruise I’m sure everybody wants to know what
No. My first impression was wow amazing guy. Cause I walked into a door in a restaurant in Los Angeles and North Hollywood and I saw this guy’s back and I tap his hand his shoulder he turned around and was a Tom cruise and I had a sweaty TCIs cause I didn’t know what the manner was back then because I was training martial arts so much and I was shook hands and she was staring at me and he didn’t like go my hands.
So he was just shaking hands like 30 seconds or 30 seconds. And I was like wow this guy is so friendly. and welcoming. So that’s what I felt on the set with Don cruise for eight months every single day Monday through Friday you get to know somebody very well. And and we’re in the makeup the place together every day we talk about we start our conversations in how are you doing and how are you doing so how’s your day going?
And he comes to the set and he shake hands to everyone and everyone on the set. So he’s a very professional obviously but very down to earth. And he shared me many things about his early career. He took me in very personally for some reason it was very fascinating.
It was my first movie. sometimes between scenes he stopped shooting and he basically pulls me over and then share his his early career life. And everybody was like what’s going on? We have to film but he stopped the whole filming.
So total production a lot of money there. I know. And then he told me she really reminds me of when I was starting out. She told me that every time we do scenes or every time we meet and I went to his house we I think it was a baseball game that we were sharing with his girlfriend at the time and different directors and his sister and in kids. But anyway
I learned a lot from him. I learned a lot from the last time. Right. Thanks. So that’s that last smer? I think he opened many opportunities.
Oh that’s awesome. That’s good to hear because I mean I don’t know him at all but he gets a lot of bad press so you just never know you know so it’s good to hear that because I really admire his story you know? And so that that that’s great. All right.
Now back to what we were talking about in closing is there any piece of advice you would give young entrepreneurs
For younger entrepreneur? It’s important to be optimistic it’s easier to feel well I’m not doing well. nobody’s listening to me. Am I doing the right thing? am I meeting with the right people? you know it it takes some time to build your own business. and my piece of advice the biggest piece of advice is to network.
If you want to become a business owner network that network people that you work with or you know will help you help them. And like going back to what I was saying building relationships and getting to know somebody and knowing more people the better it is to get more resources and information that you get.
and it will always help you know entrepreneur you never know what’s next big things. And the information is very valuable.
So that information sometimes comes from the internal social media or it comes from your your a group of friends a group of network that you have. They just Hey because I know you you my friends let’s do business together.
That’s how a business start. So my piece of advice is meet people as best as you can hang out with them. Do a favor for them. Ask a little favor. and action. Action. Action. It’s all about action. And if you think about it just take action. You know just don’t think about second question.
Third question myself am I should I do it? Should I not do it? People will tell you no that’s not going to successful or you’re too young and they’ll just do it.
That’s great advice shin. I mean it’s there’s always the naysayers out there right. And there’s always the people that couldn’t do it themselves. So they you know they want to put that on others that that can do it but I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me.
I know we talk once a week anyway or about that but I really appreciate you doing this for me. So we’ll talk soon probably a little later in the week and have a good rest of your day.
Okay. All right. Have a good one. Sure.
