CD: Your work is heavily international in its scope, but while other writers have chosen to focus on Mexico (as Sterling did in Heavy Weather), or Russia (like Womack in Let's Put the Future Behind Us), you've stuck to the west coast and to Japan. What's the fascination with Japan? How is it connected to the west coast?
WG: When did it become necessary to explain what's so cool about Japan? Everyone was quite obsessed with it 15 years ago. Have we gotten used to them? I find them more interesting in their post-Bubble state than I did when they were the centre of the world. I suppose it's the only Asian country that developed an imaginary entree to me. That's why I go back.
I suppose I do the Japanese because I just don't know China. Chinese popular culture has never evoked that instant of, "Whoah! What's that?" that I have with Japanese popular culture.
I'm not the only one: witness Pokemon! They still keep coming up with this stuff that just rivets us in unexpected areas. Was the fact that Pokemon anime gave Japanese schoolchildren epileptic seizures part of the phenomenon? Was it planned?
I've been hearing things about what Tokyo is like. I only go to Japan when there's someone who can afford to bring me there, and consequently I may never go again! It's been a while since they had the discretionary capital. But I have friends who go there frequently on business, and it sounds interesting. I've heard that they have for the first time serious drug problems.