Economics 101: The Yakuza Barometer

A look at why the yakuza hitting the books is a sure-fire sign that the economy is hitting rock bottom, by Bloomberg’s William Pesek, with added flavor from Jake Adelstein. Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) — Japan’s underworld can tell you a lot about what’s happening in the legitimate economy. Gangsters are on the run as growth wanes and deflation worsens. Yet the oddest development by far involves yakuza members sitting for exams covering key... Read More

"Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation in Japan. The New Victims: Japanese Teenagers"

子ども性被害防止で相談ＨＰ Note: I’ve been working with the Polaris Project Japan, a non-profit organization that combats human trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children, since 2005 and recently agreed to be their temporary public relations director.  In the last year, a lot of the calls coming to Polaris Project Japan were concerning Japanese teenage women who appeared to have been forced into the sex industry–not... Read More

Tokyo Vice featured in South China Post Sunday Book Section

  The stories Jake Adelstein wrote as a crime reporter for a Japanese newspaper have earned him and his family a death threat from one of the country’s most notorious and influential yakuza. Writing a book about crime and criminal culture in Japan is likely to have further enraged the Tokyo uderworld. Adelstein never planned it this way.   Read More  Read More

Jake Adelstein Featured on BBC World Service

The BBC’s International Radio Station did a story on Wednesday’s program on Jake Adelstein becoming an “accidentally intrepid” crime reporter. The information on the July 16th Program can be found here.  Read More