"[1] Afterwards he thought he lost "things that take youth", and then attended Ritsumeikan University, becoming a dialect coach, specialising in that of Kyoto and finding himself interested in acting: "Eventually, I started thinking, "Hey, maybe you should do this."
"[2] Before joining Theater Echo in 1959,[3] he acted at the children’s stage company Todo and at Ina no Kai,[4] and performed in radio drama, gaining an affinity for narration.
[1] He also developed a love of the stage, saying "Even if the content is the same, the atmosphere, including the play, will differ depending on the reaction of the audience.
"[1] Naya became the official Japanese dubbing voice of actors Clark Gable, Charlton Heston, Lee Van Cleef and John Wayne after Akiji Kobayashi dropped out.
[2] On whether his voice would be better than Kobayashi’s he said "I just did it because I was told to do it, and whether my performance was good or not is a matter for later.The evaluation was made by the audience, so there was no 'good' or bad.
In 1969 Naya began his association with Lupin the Third with the Pilot Film, voicing Goemon Ishikawa, a role subsequently taken by Makio Inoue.
"[7] He was best friends with Yasuo Yamada, voice of Arsène Lupin III until his death in 1995, having lived in a rented beach house with him.
In 1974 he became the voice of Juzo Okita in Space Battleship Yamato He was initially angry about being involved.