[fantaisie.sign]

1st half of the interview. Some of the phrases are very difficult to translate, so it's not 100% accurate. The rest is coming later tonight:

“It was very negative at the time of A BEST.”

Interviewer: It has been only 6 years since A BEST was released.

Hamasaki: It’s surprising (Ayu smiles)! Whenever I listen to my own songs from 6 years ago, they’re wonderful but they were also “heavy” work.

Interviewer: Has time given life to those songs?

Hamasaki: That seems right. Things like the occasional scenery and my condition at times brilliantly revive the songs.

Interviewer: And was your chest (heart?) painful?

Hamasaki: I think it was probably painful, but that was surprisingly okay. Things like “they’re already absolutely unreasonable” and “this era cannot be accepted” felt intense. That view was very strong at the time. In order to not see that, I faced it exactly and said, “That? That seems completely okay.” (Ayu smiles.)

Interviewer: On the contrary, since you felt that way, does [A BEST 2 –WHITE-] [A BEST 2 –BLACK-] deal with what you were faced with?

Hamasaki: Yes, although I think did not expect that to be okay. Things like “this isn't the time” and “it’s painful” made me turn my eyes away from my previous self, and I felt that now I must properly face my previous self.

Interviewer: Well, was there an excuse for you to feel that way?

Hamasaki: At the end of 2006, I was able to make my big work called [Secret]. There is also an Asia Tour for the first time, and I think that is the first time I let my past self settle.

Interviewer: [Secret] isn’t included in [A BEST 2 –WHITE-] [A BEST 2 –BLACK-] at all. Is there a clear reason why?

Hamasaki: Yes. As far as I’m concerned, I feel that [Secret] is a very special album. However, inside of me the title is more like “Reborn” (rather than Secret).

Interviewer: Were you reborn?

Hamasaki: I feel that way. Therefore, it’s not possible to mix various things from the previous BEST days. (note: BEST = referring to things from the A BEST era.) Because I was able to make that album (that album = Secret), it’s the perfect opposite of my past self. I might have been able to allow everything here.

Interviewer: The [A BEST] period was quite different, were there any positive feelings?

Hamasaki: [A BEST] was a very negative time. Even the (album) jacket showed rebellion! (Ayu smiles.)

Interviewer: Since the BEST was 6 years ago, does it appear that your fans did not worry this time?

Hamasaki: Yes. “Is this okay?” They thought it was terrible. But since it’s truly okay this time, they want to also say “We’re relieved.” I can be perfectly proud of saying what my feelings have become regarding the work leading to making the BEST.

"Last year, after I became alone, I thought about repairing time." (???)

Interviewer: When talking about [A BEST 2 –WHITE-] [A BEST 2 –BLACK-], [Secret] was a key point, and 2006 was a very important year for Ayu.

Hamasaki: Yes, that’s right. Last year I thought about various new things. Hence, is it bad for things to not break down until then? Well, I considered once. . .(???)

Interviewer: If that was the case, did you act first, then think later?

Hamasaki: Yes (Ayu smiles). For the time being, it was because I had to manage the situations. But last year, because I became alone for a short time, I thought about repairing time.

Interviewer: The history of includes Ayumi Hamasaki the longest tours and a general pace of releases, but have you thought about having a little room for spare time?