Trivia

Studied journalism at the University of Tokyo.

Never made another American film after directing The Ring Two (2005). He refused to do so after the studio interference he faced during the film's production.

According to his official website, his 1996 theatrical debut film was a documentary called "Man With 4 Names," on Joseph Losey, Wisconsin-bred-British-based filmmaker who was a Communist Party member.

Often directs literary adaptations of Koji Suzuki's novels, such as Ring (1998) and Dark Water (2002). Ring 2 (1999) was not based on his sequel novel Spiral, which was adapted into the failed sequel Rasen (1998), and functioned as a replacement sequel for that film. The Ring Two (2005) was also not based on the novel and, additionally, was not a remake of the Japanese version and had its own unique plot.

Has a brother.