eggchan

Here is more of the interview from the February issue of Potato! This time we have Sho talking about lots of different aspects on his view of promises ^^ I hope you all enjoy!!

Please don't take this out of my journal without my permission.

DO NOT claim these as your own. I spend a lot of time translating these, please be respectful.

My notes are in italic like usual

T/N!!: The word 約束 (yakusoku) means 'promise', but in Japanese can also mean something similar to plans made with your friends/family. For example, if someone asks you if you want to go out to eat but you already have plans, you could reply something to the extent of "ごめんね、約束があるよ" (Gomen ne, yakusoku ga aru yo "I'm sorry, I already have plans") So please keep this in mind while reading this as the interview spans many different ways to interpret the word "promise" in Japanese.

Enjoy!

[Sakurai Sho]
[If I don’t make plans, I feel bad!]

Do you keep promises with people?
Generally, at the beginning of the week, I made a schedule for one week. Because other than the stuff that’s been decided for me before hand for work, there are a lot of things that I have to decide for myself, too. From the preliminary preparations for work, to memorizing lines, studying, and going out for a bite to eat with friends, I always decide that. And even if just one of those falls apart, I feel considerably bad. (laugh) For example, if I plan to read up on some materials at night and I accidentally fall asleep, your plans get delayed, don’t they? This feeling reminds me of my school days when I was studying for a test. (laugh) I definitely keep my promises with people. It’s bad if you forget to go eat with a friend and such so I put it all in my cell phone memo pad, and then clear them one by one. But even if the other person cancels because it becomes inconvenient for them, I don’t get irritated, I think “I can use this time for something else, so it’s okay”. If I were to say promises in the entertainment business were vague, they are. Well, if I sai it like an administrative specialist (basically what Sho plays in Tokujo Kabachi), it would be something like “Even verbal promises are a contract, so in the case that that is broken, it is capable of receiving a compensation for damages”. (laugh) (I hate you Sho for using legal terms on me XD)

What are some Sakurai family promises / rules?
I was strictly taught about greetings and showing thanks since I was a little kid. Isn’t this an example of the so called “house discipline”? We greet people every day, so I take and special account of it. And then there’s “Thank you” and “I’m sorry” engrained into my body. I worry about people who aren’t like that.

What are some promises within Arashi?
In Arashi, we’re an extremely relaxed group of friends, so we don’t really make promises. Our manager makes up schedules for us really well, so he supports us by letting the people who come in early in the morning leave earlier in the evening, and he tries to take that into consideration.

Do you keep your plans for outings, and do you plan what you're going to do ahead of time?
In terms of friend’s birthday parties, I like to celebrate it and take the initiative and plan. For Arashi’s 10 year anniversary celebration, our friends planned a surprise party for us and I was really happy. They had remembered that a long time ago, I had said jokingly that if we were able to celebrate our 10 year anniversary, I’d want to do it luxuriously on a boat like our debut, and even though everyone is really busy they made the plans come to reality around the summer time. Actually, I had said that in thinking that it would be a party by me, for me, so I felt like I should help make the preparations. (laugh) But I was really moved that in order for me to not find out, even until the day of the party, my friends united and wanted to celebrate for me. I have to properly repay them somehow.

What is a promise that you hope the future wife will make?
I don’t really have anything special. Maybe that I hope that if they go out on a special occasion, they will put a little oomph into their outfit. (lol huh?)

Make a promise to the readers of 2010!
I will get a double catch worth 150 points on “Falling Pipe”, and get all of the targets on “Cliff Climb” on “VS Arashi”! (laugh) I definitely want to accomplish that.

Your recent state?

Once in a while if my work ends early, I go eat some food with my family and we all get each other up to date on what we’ve been up to lately. Well, for the most part it’s just my mom talking (laugh)