Tokyo Vice

An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan

By: Jake Adelstein

Narrated by: Jake Adelstein

Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

From the only American journalist ever to have been admitted to the insular Tokyo Metropolitan Police press club: a unique, firsthand, revelatory look at Japanese culture from the underbelly up.

At nineteen, Jake Adelstein went to Japan in search of peace and tranquility. What he got was a life of crime . . . crime reporting, that is, at the prestigious Yomiuri Shinbun. For twelve years of eighty-hour workweeks, he covered the seedy side of Japan, where extortion, murder, human trafficking, and corruption are as familiar as ramen noodles and sake. But when his final scoop brought him face to face with Japan’s most infamous yakuza boss—and the threat of death for him and his family—Adelstein decided to step down . . . momentarily. Then, he fought back.In Tokyo Vice, Adelstein tells the riveting, often humorous tale of his journey from an inexperienced cub reporter—who made rookie mistakes like getting into a martial-arts battle with a senior editor—to a daring, investigative journalist with a price on his head.

With its vivid, visceral descriptions of crime in Japan and an exploration of the world of modern-day yakuza that even few Japanese ever see, Tokyo Vice is a fascination, and an education, from first to last.

©2009 Jake Adelstein (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

“Groundbreaking reporting on the yakuza. . . . Adelstein shares juicy, salty, and occasionally funny anecdotes, but many are frightening. . . . Adelstein doesn’t lack for self-confidence . . . but beneath the bravado are a big heart and a relentless drive for justice.”--The Boston Globe

“Gripping. . . . [Adelstein’s] vividly detailed account of investigations into the shadowy side of Japan shows him to be more enterprising, determined and crazy than most. . . . In some of the freshest pages of the book, our unlikely hero tells us about his initiation into the seamy, tough-guy Japan beneath the public courtesies,. . . . Adelstein builds his stories with as much surprise and grit as any Al Pacino or Mark Wahlberg movie, blurring the lines between the cops, the crooks and even the journalists. . . . Tokyo Vice is often so snappy and quotable that it sounds as if it were a treatment for a Scorsese movie set in Queens. Yet the facts beneath the noirish lines are assembled with what looks to be ferocious diligence and resourcefulness. For even as he is getting slapped around by thugs and placed under police protection, Adelstein never loses his gift for crisp storytelling and an unexpectedly earnest eagerness to try to rescue the damned.”—Pico Iyer, Time

"A journalist's memoir unlike any I've ever read."--Dave Davies, Fresh Air

Great story that shows you the dark side of Japan

I think the best part of this audio book is that the author narrates it. Having someone else do the job would have taken away from raw and sometimes emotionally charged descriptions. I would reccomend this book to people who are interested in Japanese culture and want an urthodox gaijin perspective.

Excellent book for aspiring journalists

Recommend this book to anyone interested in the underworld of Tokyo and any aspiring journalist. One of the greatest I’ve ever read. Can’t wait for the HBO Max show adaptation of this to premiere now that I’ve read it.

Interesting view into Japanese culture, the Yakuza

loved it! Interesting view into Japanese culture, the Yakuza, and life of a reporter. Worth the time

Great book, but the ending sucks.

This is a great fit for the HBOMAX show. Gives some good background the show does not have.

Eventful

great detail. suspenseful. great story telling. glad the author was the narrator. maybe a documentary will be made.

amazing book.

amazing book and loved the translation. the show is amazing as well. finished book in a day

Complements the HBO show

Absolutely worth it. it's more detail and more "real" than the show.
having seen the show first, the book was a pleasure to listen to

Phenomenal

An awesome read, and something I was able to pick up and finish in under a week. Great read and would totally listen again.

incredible but heart breaking

Phenomenal book. More of an education than any college course, and yet surprisingly broad. Almost a confessional, but one that would be released after death. The author is full of courage, humor and brilliance and pours it out in this work. It left me feeling sad for the people caught up in the worst of modern organized crime, but surprised and impressed by the author's candor. I will recommend this to anyone who reads true crime, nonfiction, and biographies. I will also recommend to anyone who is unaware of human trafficking and WHY it continues, as it has since ancient times, even in wealthy, third-world countries. Jake shows the human side of nearly everyone in his book, especially those without a voice. The only person he short changes is himself. If there is a possibility that one book can change the world, i think this could. He also shows in detail how repeated trauma builds on itself and effects not only victims and police, but journalists like himself with his vivid descriptions of personal suffering. I hope the author finds peace. I'm sure his work has saved lives. And anyone who goes through this without being killed in the process is no sucker. More like balls of brass the size of the liberty bell. Jake is no pawn. Jake is a knight, jumping into danger surprising everyone and somehow never being taken. Caruana could learn something from him.

Great book

A truly interesting and sometimes horrifying look at the underworld of Tokyo. A must read