The Strange World of Yakuza Fan Magazines

It figures that something like this would be coming, since he is such an avid collector of the things, but Jake has written a detailed rundown of magazines published by fans of the Yakuza for Publishing Perspectives. The Japanese mafia, better known as the yakuza, has been the subject of fan magazines for decades. These magazines serve as de-facto trade periodicals for a world of vicious, autocratic thugs, men who are handy with swords and guns, sport full-body tattoos, deal in... Read More

2 Channel Devotes A Thread to Jake and Tokyo Vice

In one of the mind baffling things to happen of late, the popular Japanese internet BBS and forum, 2 channel, devoted a thread to me and the book. I suppose that I have fans in Japan and it also appears that I have a lot of people, some of them yakuza, who strongly dislike me. However, it’s nice to see the conflicting theories and opinions about the book in Japanese.  It’s going to take some time for me to finish rewriting the book in Japanese and probably even longer... Read More

Is Shibuya Tokyo's new sin city?

Since the tightening of regulations against fuuzoku sex industry businesses in Shinjuku’s Kabuki-cho last year, there have been voices of concern about whether or not the neighborhood will lose its character along with its seedy image. And it now may have a new competitor. Adult-themed businesses have been sprouting up in the Shibuya area over the past few years as the ever-changing cityscape has begun to take on a pink glow from these: Two men walk past a "free information... Read More

Child pornography pulling profits?

“How can you crack down on child pornography in this country when it is not a crime to be posses it?” “When you are looking at child pornography, you are not looking at something sexually titillating. You are looking at a crime scene. I mean it is crime scene. It is evidence that crime has been committed and that people can derive sexual pleasure from that or profit on that is horrifying.” – Jake Adelstein The Australian Broadcasting Corperation’s... Read More

Read Page 99 of TOKYO VICE and know all!

The Page 99 Test is a blog that gives readers a peek at the 99th page of a book because it apparently holds the secret to some unlimited wealth of knowledge. While we think the 82nd page or the 174th page would have been just as good, the 99th page is a fun little taste of the Tokyo Vice world. Jake Adelstein’s “Tokyo Vice” at The Page 99 Test  Read More

The Japan Times Reviews TOKYO VICE "classic newsprint noir"

Mark Schreiber, long time chronicler of Japan’s seamy side, weighs in on the book.  Shrieber has authored several books about crime in Japan and has been a denizen of  Kabukicho, Tokyo’s formerly glorious red-light district and adult entertainment paradise,  for over three decades. The Fortune Telling Machine Print-Out mentioned in the review Crime journalist exposes Tokyo’s darkest, seamiest, most entertaining corners and characters after 12 years on the... Read More

On the road with Tokyo Vice

Jake Adelstein is currently traversing across the U.S. on a tour promoting Tokyo Vice. The New Yorker’s Book Bench gave two thumbs (and ten fingers) up to the book’s launch party at Idlewild bookstore in Sushi and Vice. To get in on the action, hit up one of Jake’s appearances on the Tokyo Vice Book Tour. Not only limited to leaking too much information at parties with expensive alcohol, Jake recently made an appearance on WYNC’s The Brian Lehrer Show. Jake... Read More

Review by Roland Kelts

Writer, good buddy and author of Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S., Roland Kelts, has posted a great review of Tokyo Vice. Check out his blog for a good read! Jake Adelstein’s Tokyo Vice  Read More

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Getting up close with Jake

Reuters’ Isabel Reynolds gets up close and personal with Jake Adelstein about the sotry behind Tokyo Vice. In his English-language memoir, “Tokyo Vice,” which will be published in the United States this week, [Adelstein] tells the story of how he got to grips with the unique Japanese way of journalism, becoming such a serious irritant to the yakuza that he faced death threats and was placed under police protection in 2008. Adelstein, who belonged to a rare breed... Read More