¡°Is it OK if I smoke during the interview?¡± I ask Bungaku Watanabe, reaching into my coat pocket.
A look of incandescent outrage flashes across the 81-year-old¡¯s face, before I quickly reassure him that I was joking.
¡°No. No. No,¡± he says firmly, breaking into a smile before settling back down with an amiable chuckle.
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