It’s always a treat when Yu Suzuki talks Shenmue, and French website Shenmue Master was able to chat with him during the Monaco Anime Game Show. In the interview, Suzuki talks a lot about the deeper meaning of some of the game’s themes, including the mysterious Niao Sun.
One great part in the interview is when asked whether some of the pre-production work on Shenmue 3 that was done awhile back would still be usable today. Suzuki replies that indeed it would be and that if he obtained the Shenmue license from SEGA that he could use them.
Interestingly, it appears that Suzuki is still publicly pressing for SEGA to give him the Shenmue license.
[Thanks, @bigdipperart]