Words by Florenda Corpuz
Photos by Din Eugenio
TOKYO – Tom Cruise came back to Japan with a new film, a filmmaker he had wanted to work with for years and a character unlike anything he had played before.
But there was something familiar about the scene: the excitement of Japanese fans, the long hours of waiting to see him and Cruise himself looking genuinely happy to be back.
He has been making movies for 46 years. Japan has been part of that journey for much of his career.
Cruise first visited Japan for work in 1992. His recent trip was his 26th visit, bringing him back to a country where his relationship with audiences has endured across generations.
This time, he arrived with Alejandro González Iñárritu for “Digger,” a film Cruise described as the “most original and one of the most moving movies ‘I’ve ever made.”
“I am a film lover,” Cruise said during the Japan premiere.
It was a phrase that seemed to explain both the film and the man standing onstage.
The October 2026 cover of Filipino-Japanese Journal features Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise, who has visited Japan 26 times and maintains a strong connection with the country. After 46 years in the film industry, Cruise continues to take on new challenges, including his latest film, “Digger.” (Cover photo by Din Eugenio)
A Special Place for Cinema
Cruise’s visits to Japan have become something of a tradition.
This trip came at the end of the global promotion for “Digger,” following stops in London, Mexico City, Los Angeles and Seoul. Tokyo was the final stop, but Cruise spoke about Japan with the warmth of someone returning to a place that matters to him.
“This beautiful culture, this culture that understands art and aesthetics on a whole other level,” he said.
Oct. 6 also marked 20 years since the Japan Anniversary Association officially recognized the date as “Tom Cruise Day.” It was the first time Cruise had been in Japan on the anniversary.
At the premiere, he thanked the Japanese fans for continuing to share their love of movies with him.
“I make them for you, and we make them for you,” he said.
The Film He Had Never Made
Cruise first became fascinated by Iñárritu after seeing “Amores Perros” 26 years ago.
He followed the director’s work and eventually found himself wanting to collaborate with him. By the time “Digger” came together, Cruise was ready to take on a project that demanded something very different from him.
“I would work with him at any point in my career,” Cruise said at the press conference.
Iñárritu spent nine years developing the film. What began as a satirical story evolved as the real world around it changed, eventually becoming a surreal, darkly comic examination of how people understand the world around them.
Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, an eccentric and powerful oil magnate. The transformation required extensive prosthetic makeup, a fat suit and hours of preparation.
He embraced the process.
Cruise rehearsed in the makeup and prosthetics, studying how the character moved, spoke and occupied space. He wanted the physicality to become instinctive.
“I work. I’m a worker. I learn skills. I do it. I confront it,” he said.
The challenge was not simply becoming Digger. Cruise and Iñárritu also had to find the tone of a film that moves between satire, comedy and drama without settling comfortably into any one category.
That uncertainty was part of what Cruise enjoyed.
He said he had never encountered a character or a film quite like it.
The Longest Speech of his Career
During the Tokyo press conference, Cruise spoke about one of the film’s most demanding scenes: a lengthy speech performed in a single shot, with the camera following him through a carefully choreographed space as the emotional tone shifts around him.
He rehearsed the scene repeatedly and performed it four times during filming.
When Iñárritu finally told him they had the take, Cruise wanted another.
“No coverage? I don’t get to do it again?” he recalled asking.
The director said they were done.
Cruise laughed as he told the story, but his explanation of how he prepares revealed the discipline behind the performance.
He keeps working on dialogue until he is no longer thinking about memorizing it. The words become part of the movement and rhythm of the character.
That scene became the longest dialogue sequence of his career.
It was also a good example of the kind of challenge Cruise continues to seek, even after decades at the top of the industry.
Two Filmmakers Finding a Rhythm
Iñárritu spoke about Cruise’s instincts with equal admiration.
Watching him move between Digger and the film’s other layers of character, the director said, was difficult to explain. He compared Cruise’s approach to a musician who understands rhythm instinctively.
Cruise agreed that some aspects of acting are difficult to put into words.
“You will be thinking,” he said.
“Just do it,” Iñárritu replied.
“Yeah, shut up,” Cruise said, laughing.
The exchange captured the spirit of their collaboration. There was serious craftsmanship behind Digger, but there was also a sense of play.
Cruise said working with Iñárritu was a dream come true.
“So many dreams have come true for me to be able to work with Alejandro,” he told the press.
He called the director “one of one.”
Back in Japan
At the premiere, Cruise spoke about how meaningful it was to finally bring the film to Japanese audiences.
He has spent most of his adult life making movies. Japan has watched that career unfold, from the young actor who first arrived 34 years ago to the global star who now returns for the 26th time.
Nonetheless, there was remarkably little sense of looking backward.
Cruise was excited about the film in front of him.
He was excited about working with Iñárritu.
And he was excited to see what Japanese audiences would make of “Digger.”
“I just can’t wait for the audiences in Japan,” he said.
He also spoke about the privilege of standing in Tokyo with a filmmaker he admires and sharing the movie with an audience he clearly cares about.
“All of these things are like, it’s surreal to me,” he said. “It is a dream come true.”
Then came another thank you.
And another.
“I couldn’t wait to come here with Alejandro,” Cruise said.
After 26 visits, Cruise spoke about Japan with the same warmth and excitement he had shown throughout his trip.
That may be what has lasted longest in his relationship with the country.
The years have passed. The films have changed. So have the roles.
But his love for movies, and his curiosity about what comes next, remain very much alive.
At 64, Cruise continues to take on unfamiliar characters, work with filmmakers he admires and challenge himself in ways that keep him engaged with the craft.
And when he comes to the Land of the Rising Sun, he gets to share that love of cinema with an audience that has welcomed him for decades.
