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

half org. sociology, half crime story

Tokyo Vice starts off as a dry, but fascinating organizational study of the Japanese media and work culture, appealing to any amateur sociologist. Slowly it ramps up to a shocking survey of Japan's seedier side: Yakuza crime, murder, and human trafficking. Mr. Adelstein's vivid portrayal both drew me closer to, and alienated me from, the Tokyo I thought I knew. His reading is compelling. Though he isn't a professional it was a treat to hear the real emotion in his voice as he discussed the events that happened to him as his life was endangered by the type of reporting he was conducting. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Japan, crime reporting, and the Yakuza mythos.

A great "scoop," but an even better moral lesson.

i don't think I learned as many life lessons on the importance of networking and what it means to have friends than in this story of an idiot American reporting the worst of Japanese crime often with mismatching socks.

The characters are memorable and touching, the Japanese is fluent and explained easily for non-Japanese audiences (but still included and even emphasized!!), and most importantly, the problems are REAL.

Jack, our nice guy idiot reporter, goes through a great deal (including very triggering topics), and he shares them in a hindsight fashion that starts funny but ends somber. I would be interested in seeing what he has been doing in the last 13 years since publication.

I read it for an insider look on yakuza. And I did. But it was much more important to see the lives of those they impact, and to see that an ordinary guy actually managed to do something about them.

Thanks Jake

I picked up this book in advance of the new HBO show and wanted the original story and perspective before watching it. I enjoyed the book quite a bit and appreciated the author's explanations of Japanese culture. There were a couple parts that were genuinely moving and I think those moments were enhanced by the fact that the author was the narrator. My only complaint was that the author occasionally stumbled over his words. I'm glad he shared his stories.

Amazing

An amazing inside look into a profession and a culture you don't get to see often.

I especially liked how the author was also the narrator for the audiobook, because during some very intense events, you can hear the emotion in his voice which adds very positively to the listening experience.

Highly recommend for anyone even remotely interested in newspaper reporting, the Yakuza, or Japanese culture

Meh

The subject matter is interesting, but the book is poorly written, and the author spends way too much time bragging about his sexual conquest, and attempting to make himself sound like a tough guy.

Amazing Story

Even though I cringed every time the author threw himself YET AGAIN into harm's way, I'm glad he did for the story that came out of it. I hope he's retired now . . .

Intriguing….

Great story. Author gives a lot of details that enhance the overall story. Appreciate the author’s commitment to journalism.

I Couldn’t Stop Listening

Jake-San’s account of the start of his career is engaging, organized, heart-wrenching, and even educational. I have lived in Japan for almost four years and when I tell tourists or friends who have never lived here that Japan is not always the utopia it appears to be, I’m often met shock and questions. To those who are curious about “deep” Japan (and are able to stomach the truth), this is a must-read.
As a fellow foreigner in Japan, I have to thank Jake-San for his bravery - he put his own life at risk to expose the truth.

Great book

Very interesting experience in Japan. A different side of life in japan that we don’t know although we have all heard of yakuza.
Great narrations by the author.

Exciting

Very good book, reads like an action packed movie. It definitely keeps your attention and not boring at all