Japan’s Most Famous Translator Retires; Worked With Tom Cruise For 30 Years And Became His Friend The Hollywood icon was so sad about her retirement, he arrived in Japan a day ahead of schedule just so he could meet her for tea.

Japanese subtitler and interpreter Natsuko Toda is known as ‘Japan’s Most Famous Film Translator’ and the country’s ‘Subtitle Queen’ having translated and subtitled hundreds of English-language films into Japanese since 1970.

She was later asked to help interpret for foreign movie stars whenever they visited Japan for promotional activities.

A particular Hollywood star she’s worked with multiple times is Tom Cruise, who has visited Japan 24 times for work since 1992.

Natsuko started interpreting for Tom in 1994, but was noticeably absent when he visited Japan to promote Top Gun: Maverick last year.

As it turns out, Natsuko, who’s 86 this year, had retired.

In a recent interview with Japanese publication The Change, Natsuko shared that she’s always thought about retiring as an interpreter, as she felt that she was not suited to be one.

“I am not a bilingual person, and my translations are not at a professional level. I started [in this industry] as a movie subtitler, and had the chance to become an interpreter along the way. However, this fate has allowed me to meet lots of people, and hear more stories, and that’s why I’ve continued till now,” she said.

Natsuko shared that she felt quite troubled when she heard that Tom would be coming to Japan to promote Top Gun: Maverick last year, as she was already thinking of retiring.

“To me, Tom Cruise has a very special existence. No matter what he does, he’ll give 200 per cent of his effort. He’s a perfectionist, regardless of whether he’s filming a movie or a commercial, or appearing at a press conference. He gives it his all. As his interpreter, I must also put in 200 per cent of my effort, so that things will go smoothly,” Natsuko shared.

She added that after turning 80, she didn’t feel confident enough to keep up with him, and that she was worried of letting him down if she were to mess up a word.

Hence, she decided to retire as an interpreter.

“I told him that I retired about a month before he visited Japan, and he jokingly replied: ‘Can you really not do it anymore? You still want to be my interpreter, right?’ However, he knew that I’d made up my mind,” Natsuko said.

Despite that, Tom made sure to spare some time for his old friend during his visit. Tom arrived in Japan a day ahead of schedule, and called Natsuko up to meet for tea. The duo, accompanied by Tom’s sisters and nephew, had tea and chatted together at his hotel.

“We chatted very enthusiastically for over three hours, talking about movies, family, and our hobbies, everything and anything. Although we’ve known each other for 30 years, every time we meet, it’s for work, and the schedule is extremely packed. This is my first time chatting with him like this in private,” Natsuko shared.

Following that tea session, Tom invited Natsuko as a guest to the movie’s premiere. He also told Natsuko that she “didn’t need to do anything” and to “just be by [his] side”,

He also mentioned that he would be returning to Japan to promote Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1, and that he hoped to meet her again then.

While the trip was unfortunately cancelled, Natsuko was still invited as a special guest at the premiere of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 because of course Tom Cruise would keep his word.