My afternoon with Keiji Fujimoto, Part 1

I’ve spent the last five years perfecting the art of the interview. I’ve learned the right questions to ask. I’ve become a master of listening. I know all of the right times to laugh and all of the right times to be compassionate. On top of everything, I’m humble.

But, even a titan of talking like myself was nervous to report in Japan. I bet you’re wondering how someone as skilled as I could have any trouble interviewing people. Here’s the thing - I don’t know how to speak Japanese.

So when our foreign correspondent Keiji Fujimoto was looking for someone to help him find a person who experienced the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, I couldn’t refuse. Keiji has an unassuming presence about him-- he is quiet, reserved and unassuming. I thought, “I’m going to wow this guy with my talent.”

Keiji and I set out to look for sources on the campus of Sophia University. Keiji politely asked me who I thought we should talk to first. I scanned the immediate campus and saw a couple of hip-looking youths sitting on a bench and told Keiji that those are the people we should start with.

We walked over, and Keiji started talking. The students started looking through their phones trying to find any acquaintance who experienced the disaster. Keiji continued to talk and I just stood there and said “arigato” over and over, like an idiot.

Their conversation died down, and we walked away. I asked Keiji what they said. He said they would contact their friend who lived in Sendai during 3.11.

While they contacted their friend, Keiji and I talked to more students on the campus to no avail. We walked back to the original group. They told us their friend would gladly talk to us in about an hour and a half.

To kill time, Keiji and I grabbed coffee and talked. This was my moment to pick his brain, try and learn a thing or two from him. But more importantly, this was my chance to impress him with my vast array of skills.

I asked him about his work and his travels. He told me stories about his time reporting in Nepal, his journey of self-growth while taking photos while in Kenya and the time he spent in a North Korean jail. Y’know, your average, run-of-the-mill small talk.

When he was younger, Keiji would get in fights with students who viewed him as an outcast. He carries one of his teeth in a case on his phone, knocked out several years ago when he was attacked. He was stabbed when someone tried to steal from him in Kenya, but he made sure they didn’t get his prized camera. Keiji’s scars help him remember where he has been. He has experiences that I could never dream.

After hearing about Keiji’s experiences, I started to get nervous. I realized that no matter how good I think I am, there is always going to be someone more experienced and more worldly.

Whenever I am faced with someone who is clearly superior to me, my natural instinct is to collapse and cry. All of my confidence began to slip out of me right before the interview.