Pynchon interviewed in Playboy Japan re 9-11

[Vincent A. Maeder]

I agree with Paul about that Pynchon presence behind the double (triple?)
translation to get his words to us. The statement I found interesting was
the statement "If you look at it from another angle, Bin Laden is a symbol
rather than a human. There may be no Bin Laden ever existed." Interesting
when put into the context of Pynchon's fiction. How many characters turn out
to not be there, or, like Slothrop, disappear into nothing (as Bin Laden may
have)?  I also found it interesting this appeared in a Japanese publication.
This connotes a connection between Pynchon and Japan (or someone in or from
Japan). Perhaps there is something there in the new work that may be
approaching?