What do you do? I work at MTV Japan as a VJ, hosting a program called "Most Wanted" which is
a request program. That' on every day. Weekday evenings I'm at InterFM doing an, I'm
wondering what to call it, alternative show, I guess.
How did you get into it? I was always into radio. At the age of 13 or 14 I was making tapes for my friends,
pretending to be Casey Casem and doing stupid requests. During my junior year in high
school I started working for a cable radio station. One thing led to another and I got a
show in Yokohama. Once I'd done radio for a couple of years, the TV chances came along.
Where are you from?
I'm half-British and half-Japanese. I was born in Japan and lived here until I was four or
five. I went to England until I was 12 and then came back to Japan. I've been here ever
since.
If you weren't a VJ/DJ, what job would you be doing? I've always wanted to be a florist. There's just something about flowers, especially
bright ones. I worked at a hairdresser for a while when I was 15. It was great. I washed
the towels but didn't really get to touch any hair. That was the first job I had where I
got to work with Japanese people and I remember thinking how cool and laid back they were.
What do you remember most about your schooldays in Japan? Religion. But in a good way. I went to a Protestant school called the Christian
Academy in Japan. You know, it's really easy to point your finger at religion and say,
"Religion's so hypocritical", but it's just like in any other walk of life, you
have your hypocrites and you have your truly great people; people who are really
open-hearted and people who are closed. I have really fond memories of that school.
What do you like most about living in Japan? It's my home. I don't know. What do
you like about home? I like my friends. I like the soba shop down the street. I like the
afternoon "Wide Shows", especially that one where they roll around a big bouncy
ball to decide what happens next.
What do you dislike about living in Japan? I wish people would assert themselves a bit more. I wish that if Japanese people feel
they don't like something, they would say so. Sometimes I wonder if my popularity on MTV
has something to do with that; that I somehow represent something or have some trait they
admire; that I'm able to say "no"or "yes"or "that's f***ed".
I don't know.
What's the strangest thing you've ever seen in Japan? Two guys fighting on the Seibu Ikebukuro line. There was this guy banging his head
against the window and all of a sudden he turns to the guy next to him and says, "My
friend died today." Then he started beating the living shit out of him. I was like
"What?"And then everyone ganged up on him and started beating the shit out of
him. It was weird.
You're stuck on the Yamanote line for eternity. You can take one CD, one book and one
luxury item. What would they be? I don't think I'd take a CD because I'd get sick of it. And the book? It'd be the
same. No, I don't think I'd take anything. Oh, I know. I wouldn't take a book or a CD but
I would take one of those massage machines. I love them.
Do you have a favorite place to eat and drink in Tokyo? Milk in Ebisu. I've been going there the last couple of Fridays. The people there are
really good to me. But I don't go out that often. If I drink on the weekdays, it doesn't
make for good work.
Imagine you had to move back to the UK for some reason, what item would you take with
you from Japan? I'd take a Japanese football team and have them play against a Premier League team.
That would be good.
What are your plans for the future? I'd like to say that I'm going to change the face of radio and TV but you can only
really say that once you reach the top. I can only see a couple of years ahead. MTV's
going well. I've just started at InterFM and I can see how it could become something
really good.
One thing I don't want to become is a liar. I don't want to bullshit people and pretend
that I hang out with Bon Jovi or that Steven Tyler comes to my house all the time. I've
never met those guys and I probably never will. I just want to be George. It may be
"Stupid George"or "Intelligent George"whatever, but just the natural
me.
George Williams presents "Channel G" on InterFM Mon-Fri 10pm-12am. MTV's
"Most Wanted" is on daily at 8pm.
Occupation:
LIFE IN JAPAN: