AP Photo/Shizuo KambayashiThe Japanese media can say sayonara to any insight on Christian Bale's recent arrest.
"It's a private matter," Bale told reporters at a Tokyo press conference promoting The Dark Knight.
When one brazen media type ignored the noncomment and asked whether the 34-year-old box-office king was doing "OK," Bale stuck to his batguns.
"It's a private matter," he repeated.
The response is nearly identical to Bale's request to Barcelona's media at the Spanish premiere of the film last Wednesday.
"It's a deeply personal matter," he said at the time. "I would ask you to respect my privacy in the matter."
The Japanese press corps was specifically told by organizers of the Tokyo event to limit questions to the movie (which, burgeoning scandal or no, just became the fastest film to cross the $300 million mark domestically) and not ask about Bale's arrest last week. His mother and sister alleged that he assaulted them in a London hotel room, accusations he not only denies but has not been charged for.
With his personal life decidedly off-limits, he gladly fielded questions about The Dark Knight.
After discussing the character of the Joker, who "really knows how to get underneath Batman's skin to the point where he is questioning his own ethic," Bale saluted late costar Heath Ledger.
"Heath played that beautifully," Bale said. "I enjoyed very much our first scene together...You could see how much he got by playing this character. He really got satisfaction out of it."