It's interesting, I haven't heard a lot about the Japanese fellow but it's good for the game that he can actually get a game, I'm a bit more worried about the other 24 senior players he's got running around.

I'd not underestimate the competitive powers of the Japanese people.

I look at the grand final last year: the three umpires that umpired that game were outstanding. I think on that particular day, it was a case of, 'we know what the rules are, we know what the fans want to see, we know how we want to umpire it, let's just stick to those three principles'.

The Japanese have perfected good manners and made them indistinguishable from rudeness.

That's interesting. I never heard that before,

As an American, you appreciate the importance of our security alliance, the importance of the economic ties between our two countries, and while I knew of the two bonds between our two people, until I came here, I didn't really appreciate how deep the people-to-people connections are between the American people and the Japanese people.