Category Archives: Dark Side of the Sun

The Invisible Yakuza And Those That See Them

By Jake Adelstein | Published: 22 February 2010
Maybe it seems like we glorify the yakuza on this website, and perhaps we do a little. But they are called 暴力団 (boryoku-dan –violent groups) by the police for a reason–violence is the source of their power and wealth and they do not hesitate to use it.  The following letter was sent from Sam P, [...]
Also posted in Yakuza | 8 Comments

We take bullets very seriously. Even the fake ones. Part 1.

By Jake Adelstein | Published: 14 February 2010
A few weeks ago, I had to go apologize to a yakuza boss. Always a scary thing, especially when you’re in the wrong. He had agreed to help out with a story I was working on, and through some mishaps he ended up getting chewed out by his own boss because of it. I flew back [...]
Also posted in Yakuza | 4 Comments

Everything I Ever Needed To Know I Learned From The Yakuza Or The Cops. Entry #02

By Jake Adelstein | Published: 27 January 2010
"Nothing is just business. Everything is personal. If you bring the war to us, we'll bring the war to you--right where you live. So don't fuck with us." And they only have to demonstrate that once for people to get the point. Expose how they make their money, get some of them arrested, pass on information to the police about their criminal activites--whether it's human trafficking or just illegal gambling--and you will quickly learn how intolerant the noble yakuza can be.
Also posted in Yakuza | 15 Comments

Homes and hotels during the recession

By Sarah Noorbakhsh | Published: 7 January 2010
The talented Hiroko Tabuchi of the New York Times published an article recently focusing on a group of Japanese people who have been forced out of their homes and into capsule hotels due to the recession. For Atsushi Nakanishi, jobless since Christmas, home is a cubicle barely bigger than a coffin — one of dozens of [...]
Posted in Dark Side of the Sun | 5 Comments

Thank You For The Kind Letters About TOKYO VICE (from Jake)

By Jake Adelstein | Published: 2 December 2009
I’ve been heartened by a huge number of letters I’ve received in the last three weeks from people who read the book and were moved by it, inspired by it, appalled by it, and/or who felt they were wiser for reading it. I’ve tried to answer every letter I’ve gotten. If I haven’t answered yours, [...]
Also posted in Tokyo Vice | 18 Comments