When producers for
You Only Live Twice (1967) warned Mie that because she
wasn't learning English quickly enough, she was going to be fired from
the film, she solemnly told them that, because of her shame, she would
then commit ritual suicide. Whether she was bluffing or not, the
producers decided not to risk it, and instead that she switch roles with the other actress in the film
Akiko Wakabayashi, since this role didn't require much dialogue.