Tom Cruise Day Declared in Japan  10/10/06

Tom Cruise has had a special day named in his honor in Japan.

According to the Japan Memorial Day Association, he was awarded with his own day because of his love for and close association with Japan.

Cruise's film, The Last Samurai, grossed $117 million more in Japan than it did in the US.

The actor has paid more visits to the country than any other major Hollywood star and spends hours on end with fans in the country.

His public relations tour of Japan last spring (06) to promote Mission Impossible III included a trip on the bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo, during which he had his photo taken with more than 100 fans.

During that trip, Cruise told the press he wanted to shoot the next installment in the action series in Japan.

The Association noted that Cruise is the first Hollywood star to receive this honor.