Comments on: Thank You For The Kind Letters About TOKYO VICE (from Jake) http://www.japansubculture.com/2009/12/thank-you-for-the-kind-letters-about-tokyo-vice-from-jake/ All the intriguing and seedy aspects that keep Japan running. Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:27:24 +0000 hourly 1 By: Jake Adelstein http://www.japansubculture.com/2009/12/thank-you-for-the-kind-letters-about-tokyo-vice-from-jake/comment-page-1/#comment-1553 Jake Adelstein Wed, 05 May 2010 00:08:53 +0000 http://www.japansubculture.com/?p=701#comment-1553 I hesitate to compare my book to a video game, but after having played through the very-well scripted and thought out "Yakuza 3" (The original Japanese title 龍が如く３)--it made me think that it was important the book started where it did. To understand anything or anyone, you have to take the time to know where they came from and where they want to go. I think so. One of the interesting choices the makers of Yakuza 3 do is force you to spend time running an orphanage as an ex-yakuza and getting to know the kids and locals. In that way, they make you emotionally invested in the dilemma the protagonist (and you the player) will face later in the game. I wasn't aiming for the same thing but I did want to make the reader understand Japan the way I learned to understand Japan. It wasn't easy to remember what I used not to know. I'm glad that the suffering the seedier factions of the yakuza inflict on the world came through in the pages. I feel that I may have glorified certain aspects of their society without sufficiently communicating the harm and mayhem they produce as well. If the book made you feel like you were in my shoes and walking around Japan, than I'm honored. I was hoping it would do that for some people. I also hope that you learned something from the book that stays with you. That book may be the best thing I will ever write. I'm perfectly content with that, if that's the case. I hesitate to compare my book to a video game, but after having played through the very-well scripted and thought out “Yakuza 3″ (The original Japanese title 龍が如く３)–it made me think that it was important the book started where it did. To understand anything or anyone, you have to take the time to know where they came from and where they want to go. I think so.
One of the interesting choices the makers of Yakuza 3 do is force you to spend time running an orphanage as an ex-yakuza and getting to know the kids and locals. In that way, they make you emotionally invested in the dilemma the protagonist (and you the player) will face later in the game.
I wasn’t aiming for the same thing but I did want to make the reader understand Japan the way I learned to understand Japan. It wasn’t easy to remember what I used not to know.
I’m glad that the suffering the seedier factions of the yakuza inflict on the world came through in the pages. I feel that I may have glorified certain aspects of their society without sufficiently communicating the harm and mayhem they produce as well.
If the book made you feel like you were in my shoes and walking around Japan, than I’m honored. I was hoping it would do that for some people. I also hope that you learned something from the book that stays with you.
That book may be the best thing I will ever write. I’m perfectly content with that, if that’s the case.

]]> By: Gershom Benavidez http://www.japansubculture.com/2009/12/thank-you-for-the-kind-letters-about-tokyo-vice-from-jake/comment-page-1/#comment-1551 Gershom Benavidez Tue, 04 May 2010 21:31:22 +0000 http://www.japansubculture.com/?p=701#comment-1551 A good friend of mine recommended your book to me. I just finished Tokyo Vice. At first I thought you were spending too much time on the beginnings of your career. For the first few chapters I was thinking, "Where are the Yakuza?!" But as I continued reading those first few chapters, it gave me a good introduction to your life as a journalist. Those lengthy chapters transported me into your shoes and into your life in Japan. As I kept reading the level of detail that you went to describe the Yakuza underworld was amazing. It was sad to see that the "honor" aspects of the Yakuza gave way to "greed". Battles Without Honor and Humanity was a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed growing up, and that was pretty much most of what I knew about the Yakuza. (Yes...from movies) When one glorifies an organization due to their immense power it's easy to overlook the human suffering that comes along with that power. Thanks to your book it made me think much differently of what really goes on. While reading I had so many questions about what happened, particularly about your good friends. How you felt about everything and you answered everything that I wanted to know. If I was in your position for the sake of my family and friends I probably would not have had the same determination as you. Although you've battled many demons I think you're on the right path. Wish you and your family all the best. A good friend of mine recommended your book to me. I just finished Tokyo Vice. At first I thought you were spending too much time on the beginnings of your career. For the first few chapters I was thinking, “Where are the Yakuza?!”

But as I continued reading those first few chapters, it gave me a good introduction to your life as a journalist. Those lengthy chapters transported me into your shoes and into your life in Japan.

As I kept reading the level of detail that you went to describe the Yakuza underworld was amazing.

It was sad to see that the “honor” aspects of the Yakuza gave way to “greed”.

Battles Without Honor and Humanity was a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed growing up, and that was pretty much most of what I knew about the Yakuza. (Yes…from movies)

When one glorifies an organization due to their immense power it’s easy to overlook the human suffering that comes along with that power.

Thanks to your book it made me think much differently of what really goes on.

While reading I had so many questions about what happened, particularly about your good friends. How you felt about everything and you answered everything that I wanted to know.

If I was in your position for the sake of my family and friends I probably would not have had the same determination as you. Although you’ve battled many demons I think you’re on the right path. Wish you and your family all the best.

]]> By: Jake Adelstein http://www.japansubculture.com/2009/12/thank-you-for-the-kind-letters-about-tokyo-vice-from-jake/comment-page-1/#comment-1521 Jake Adelstein Sun, 25 Apr 2010 16:27:57 +0000 http://www.japansubculture.com/?p=701#comment-1521 Criminal organizations were one of the few outfits in Japan willing to employ ethnic Koreans for many years in Japan. The current leader of the Inagawakai, Kiyota Jiro, is allegedly of Korean descent. As is Takayama Kiyoshi, the acting chief of the Yamaguchi-gumi. However, many ethnic Koreans later become Japanese nationals and try to keep their ethnic origins very quiet. Everyone might know it in the organization, but it's not openly discussed. And like converts to a new religion, some ethnic Koreans who become Japanese nationals, become very nationalistic and proud to be Japanese. Criminal organizations were one of the few outfits in Japan willing to employ ethnic Koreans for many years in Japan. The current leader of the Inagawakai, Kiyota Jiro, is allegedly of Korean descent. As is Takayama Kiyoshi, the acting chief of the Yamaguchi-gumi. However, many ethnic Koreans later become Japanese nationals and try to keep their ethnic origins very quiet. Everyone might know it in the organization, but it’s not openly discussed. And like converts to a new religion, some ethnic Koreans who become Japanese nationals, become very nationalistic and proud to be Japanese.

]]> By: nowhere http://www.japansubculture.com/2009/12/thank-you-for-the-kind-letters-about-tokyo-vice-from-jake/comment-page-1/#comment-1463 nowhere Sun, 18 Apr 2010 00:39:48 +0000 http://www.japansubculture.com/?p=701#comment-1463 I just finished reading the book and had to visit the website to read more. I found the book very engrossing and informative, although it does leave me with a tinge of the melancholy, particularly the passages regarding Hamaya and human trafficking. I do some work with human trafficking victims in the U.S., and I am often disgusted by the large number of actors involved at the periphery, the ordinary people doing legal things while turning a blind eye to the likely ends. While it's easy to demonize the criminals at the center, it's harder to reconcile the actions (and consequences) of the others. I'm trying not to let the greyness and obscurity of people's actions and motivations feed my cynicism. I was surprised to learn that ethnic Koreans are prominent in criminal organizations in Japan, because at the same time, it seems like one of the most common justifications (whether accurate or not) given by yakuza fans is that they promote traditional ways and values. I had always thought that "tradition" in Japan excludes Koreans, but I guess that the popular perception of ethnic Koreans is more complex than that, and evolving still with the influx of Korean pop culture. I appreciate the candor of your writing, and look forward to reading more. I just finished reading the book and had to visit the website to read more. I found the book very engrossing and informative, although it does leave me with a tinge of the melancholy, particularly the passages regarding Hamaya and human trafficking. I do some work with human trafficking victims in the U.S., and I am often disgusted by the large number of actors involved at the periphery, the ordinary people doing legal things while turning a blind eye to the likely ends. While it’s easy to demonize the criminals at the center, it’s harder to reconcile the actions (and consequences) of the others. I’m trying not to let the greyness and obscurity of people’s actions and motivations feed my cynicism.

I was surprised to learn that ethnic Koreans are prominent in criminal organizations in Japan, because at the same time, it seems like one of the most common justifications (whether accurate or not) given by yakuza fans is that they promote traditional ways and values. I had always thought that “tradition” in Japan excludes Koreans, but I guess that the popular perception of ethnic Koreans is more complex than that, and evolving still with the influx of Korean pop culture.

I appreciate the candor of your writing, and look forward to reading more.

]]> By: ArthurFrDent http://www.japansubculture.com/2009/12/thank-you-for-the-kind-letters-about-tokyo-vice-from-jake/comment-page-1/#comment-1269 ArthurFrDent Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:48:17 +0000 http://www.japansubculture.com/?p=701#comment-1269 Heh, a friend just posted to me the Jon Stewart interview from last November... You should point it out again... Heh, a friend just posted to me the Jon Stewart interview from last November… You should point it out again…

]]> By: Jake Adelstein http://www.japansubculture.com/2009/12/thank-you-for-the-kind-letters-about-tokyo-vice-from-jake/comment-page-1/#comment-1266 Jake Adelstein Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:50:08 +0000 http://www.japansubculture.com/?p=701#comment-1266 Thanks for taking two days to read it one fell swoop. That's dedication. :). Actually, the talk was at the Temple University Campus in Tokyo, so you didn't really miss it. I have to confess, I didn't plan on putting myself in harm's way. It just sort of worked out that way. And once you're on the chess board, you have to play until you reach the end game. (Best metaphor I can come up with at the moment.) The cops are coming around. They're really putting an effort into understanding the problem and doing something about it. Japan has made tremendous improvements in cutting down the flow of the traffic into the country and putting out of business those profiting on the slavery of others. But the traffickers themselves keep getting smarter as well. Still, things are much better than they were in 2006, 2007. Thanks for taking two days to read it one fell swoop. That’s dedication. :) . Actually, the talk was at the Temple University Campus in Tokyo, so you didn’t really miss it. I have to confess, I didn’t plan on putting myself in harm’s way. It just sort of worked out that way. And once you’re on the chess board, you have to play until you reach the end game. (Best metaphor I can come up with at the moment.) The cops are coming around. They’re really putting an effort into understanding the problem and doing something about it. Japan has made tremendous improvements in cutting down the flow of the traffic into the country and putting out of business those profiting on the slavery of others. But the traffickers themselves keep getting smarter as well. Still, things are much better than they were in 2006, 2007.

]]> By: Micah http://www.japansubculture.com/2009/12/thank-you-for-the-kind-letters-about-tokyo-vice-from-jake/comment-page-1/#comment-1265 Micah Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:45:14 +0000 http://www.japansubculture.com/?p=701#comment-1265 I just finished reading Tokyo Vice. Read it over a period of two days. It was on my radar for a few months before I finally ordered it and it arrived last week. I live in NEPA and would have made the trip down to Philly for the event at Temple had I known about. Great work. It takes a lot to expose the truth when your life could hang in the balance. There's not too many who would do the right thing. Your book also exposed a darker side of Tokyo that I was unaware of. I knew of the sex clubs and Yakuza but had no idea the extent of human trafficing and the I-could-care-less-about-some-foreign-whore that many in power seem to have. Sad. But I'm glad there's people fighting the good fight. I just finished reading Tokyo Vice. Read it over a period of two days. It was on my radar for a few months before I finally ordered it and it arrived last week. I live in NEPA and would have made the trip down to Philly for the event at Temple had I known about.

Great work. It takes a lot to expose the truth when your life could hang in the balance. There’s not too many who would do the right thing. Your book also exposed a darker side of Tokyo that I was unaware of. I knew of the sex clubs and Yakuza but had no idea the extent of human trafficing and the I-could-care-less-about-some-foreign-whore that many in power seem to have. Sad. But I’m glad there’s people fighting the good fight.

]]> By: Jake Adelstein http://www.japansubculture.com/2009/12/thank-you-for-the-kind-letters-about-tokyo-vice-from-jake/comment-page-1/#comment-1260 Jake Adelstein Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:34:07 +0000 http://www.japansubculture.com/?p=701#comment-1260 Joe-san, You did right to steer clear of those areas. Well-done. Please let UCLA know how you feel. :) . I stopped smoking about two weeks ago. I'm still on the nicotine patch and I'm puffing on a fake cigarette that actually burns crystallized vitamin C and makes a nice healthy mist to breathe in. I have two more books I'm writing about yakuza, one a biography of sorts and another a more scholarly tome, like McMafia, to be titled "The Nine-Fingered Economy." As for being a monk, this year I hope to get my priest credentials. I'm close. Not that I plan to make that my profession but somehow it would be nice to complete the training. Plus, it would be nice to offer to do free funerals for the families of my friends. Cops, reporters, and yakuza tend to die early in life. Sometimes, I feel like I'm 70 years old. It seems like every couple of weeks or months, another person I knew on the beat passes away. It's morbid but true. I'll communicate your best wishes to Sunao and the kids. Thanks for writing. Joe-san,
You did right to steer clear of those areas. Well-done. Please let UCLA know how you feel. :) .
I stopped smoking about two weeks ago. I’m still on the nicotine patch and I’m puffing on a fake cigarette that actually burns crystallized vitamin C and makes a nice healthy mist to breathe in. I have two more books I’m writing about yakuza, one a biography of sorts and another a more scholarly tome, like McMafia, to be titled “The Nine-Fingered Economy.”
As for being a monk, this year I hope to get my priest credentials. I’m close. Not that I plan to make that my profession but somehow it would be nice to complete the training. Plus, it would be nice to offer to do free funerals for the families of my friends. Cops, reporters, and yakuza tend to die early in life.
Sometimes, I feel like I’m 70 years old. It seems like every couple of weeks or months, another person I knew on the beat passes away. It’s morbid but true.
I’ll communicate your best wishes to Sunao and the kids. Thanks for writing.

]]> By: Joe http://www.japansubculture.com/2009/12/thank-you-for-the-kind-letters-about-tokyo-vice-from-jake/comment-page-1/#comment-1258 Joe Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:06:24 +0000 http://www.japansubculture.com/?p=701#comment-1258 Jake, Unlike Scott, I'm not a cop. But I did live in Tokyo for ten years from '85 to '95. I was in my 20's and 30's, so I can sympathize with a lot of what you went through. But let me say this -- you have done an amazing thing, becoming a reporter and going into the seedier side of Tokyo. For all us gaijin who spent years in Tokyo, so many parts of your book bring back so many memories. But on the other hand, many of us steered clear of places like Roppongi and Kabuki-cho (as you did until you were assigned to go there). We wanted to get to know the real Japan, not other foreigners in Roppongi (or the Japanese who were attracted to the foreign-like Roppongi). I was in high-tech business in Tokyo, not newspaper reporting, so I had no need to spend lots of time in Roppongi. For the sake of your wife and kids, I hope you've stopped smoking. A real irony I find in your book is that you purposely sought out the most criminal aspects of the G7 country with by far the lowest crime rate. For many of us gaijin who stayed on the clean side of the law, the inner workings of the Japanese police were quite a mystery; your book really enlightens in this area. Finally, congrats on getting the 60 Minutes segment. As a California taxpayer, I feel angered that my tax dollars (UCLA) went towards a liver transplant for one of those scum-bag yakuza. Shame on UCLA! Anyway, you've done an amazing thing with this book. Will you now follow in the footsteps of Robert Whiting, writing more books about Japan? Or maybe time to find some peace by going back to being a monk? Best wishes to you, Sunao and the kids. (I'm also married to a Japanese and we have a son and daughter.) Joe Jake,

Unlike Scott, I’m not a cop. But I did live in Tokyo for ten years from ’85 to ’95. I was in my 20′s and 30′s, so I can sympathize with a lot of what you went through. But let me say this — you have done an amazing thing, becoming a reporter and going into the seedier side of Tokyo. For all us gaijin who spent years in Tokyo, so many parts of your book bring back so many memories. But on the other hand, many of us steered clear of places like Roppongi and Kabuki-cho (as you did until you were assigned to go there). We wanted to get to know the real Japan, not other foreigners in Roppongi (or the Japanese who were attracted to the foreign-like Roppongi). I was in high-tech business in Tokyo, not newspaper reporting, so I had no need to spend lots of time in Roppongi. For the sake of your wife and kids, I hope you’ve stopped smoking. A real irony I find in your book is that you purposely sought out the most criminal aspects of the G7 country with by far the lowest crime rate. For many of us gaijin who stayed on the clean side of the law, the inner workings of the Japanese police were quite a mystery; your book really enlightens in this area. Finally, congrats on getting the 60 Minutes segment. As a California taxpayer, I feel angered that my tax dollars (UCLA) went towards a liver transplant for one of those scum-bag yakuza. Shame on UCLA!

Anyway, you’ve done an amazing thing with this book. Will you now follow in the footsteps of Robert Whiting, writing more books about Japan? Or maybe time to find some peace by going back to being a monk? Best wishes to you, Sunao and the kids. (I’m also married to a Japanese and we have a son and daughter.)

Joe

]]> By: Scott http://www.japansubculture.com/2009/12/thank-you-for-the-kind-letters-about-tokyo-vice-from-jake/comment-page-1/#comment-1255 Scott Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:10:22 +0000 http://www.japansubculture.com/?p=701#comment-1255 Jake-san You would have been a great cop lol you have the insticts to do it and we are all far from saints. You were around them enough in Japan to know this. It's funny when you say I am grieving for Hamaya and I guess I am in my own way. I am grieving for you as well, as the burden you are carrying around with you regarding her death I would not wish on anyone. As for the email I know I have no right to say this but it's my two cents. In some ways I think reading the email will provide you with closure as painful as it would be to do so. I have had close friends commit suicide and you are left feeling hollow inside always wondering what you could have done differently and if you could have stopped it. I only learned this from work but those people that leave a message behind generally never do so blame the recipients. Every note I have read had always been to apologize to those around them and to make them understand why they did what they did. In the end it was Hamaya-sans good bye to you. I think she would have wanted you to read it. Sorry if that crossed a line Jake-san it's just of all the things you had the courage to write about in your book that, and Helena seemed to be the two things you carry with you the most. It's a heavy burden to have. Scott Jake-san

You would have been a great cop lol you have the insticts to do it and we are all far from saints. You were around them enough in Japan to know this. It’s funny when you say I am grieving for Hamaya and I guess I am in my own way. I am grieving for you as well, as the burden you are carrying around with you regarding her death I would not wish on anyone.
As for the email I know I have no right to say this but it’s my two cents. In some ways I think reading the email will provide you with closure as painful as it would be to do so. I have had close friends commit suicide and you are left feeling hollow inside always wondering what you could have done differently and if you could have stopped it. I only learned this from work but those people that leave a message behind generally never do so blame the recipients. Every note I have read had always been to apologize to those around them and to make them understand why they did what they did. In the end it was Hamaya-sans good bye to you. I think she would have wanted you to read it.

Sorry if that crossed a line Jake-san it’s just of all the things you had the courage to write about in your book that, and Helena seemed to be the two things you carry with you the most. It’s a heavy burden to have. Scott

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