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  • Tokyo Vice

  • An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan
  • By: Jake Adelstein
  • Narrated by: Jake Adelstein
  • Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (194 ratings)
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Tokyo Vice cover art

Tokyo Vice

By: Jake Adelstein
Narrated by: Jake Adelstein
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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

What listeners say about Tokyo Vice

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  • AJ
  • 28-07-11

Misses...

I bought this because it sounded like a really interesting insight into the dark side of a strange culture.

The main fault is the writer has a knack of making even very entertaining situations sound very flat & boring. A visit to a bar offering a glass toilet you can pay a girl to use is narrated in the style of "I bought a bottle of milk. & a snickers bar. It was a Tuesday." I read a lot of Carl Hiaasen's work - another journalist turned author, and the contrast is huge. Hiaasen is writing fiction, but he takes odd people doing strange things & lays it out in a hugely entertaining way. Adelstein in contrast lays it out in seemingly the least interesting way he can. I kept feeling there was a great entertaining read trapped in there desperately trying & failing to get out.

The second problem is Adelstein narrates his own book. This saved some cash & it helps with the Japanese names, but after so long in Japan he speaks English almost like a fluent Japanese speaker, words are rushed or compacted, often sentences are read in that Japanese way of almost hyphenating the whole sentence, - "Why-would-I-want-that-I-asked". A lot of the book is conversation but without "I said / He said". When reading this is easy, but when listening I find that 99% of voice actors use different voices to make it clear. Adelstein not only doesn't change his voice, his style of hyphenating an entire sentence can often mean you have to concentrate very hard just to figure out who is talking. And it adds to the overall blandness.

Last, again a by-product of not using a professional voice actor or possibly of his years of not speaking English, he pauses at strange moments sentences pause in the middle or they run straight over commas

I do get the feeling if he had told his stories to another reporter turned author (Hiaasen, Michael Lewis), had them write it & then had a voice actor narrate it, it could have been a five star effort. As it is, its a strange listen & a bit boring

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very entertaining read!

Like a lot of people recently I imagine, I became aware of this book after S1 of the HBO show came out.. I'm glad that I actually read the book - S1 only covers a small portion of the book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Narratorneedstopunctuatehisspeechwithpauses!

This is, as stated by another reviewer, a story about journalism rather than about the Yakuza although the two topics do intersect. It's rather sleazy and I felt 'soiled' after listening to sections of it and I don't want to repeat that experience.

My issue is with the authors performance. There are times when he narrates, avoiding all punctuation, in a barrage of words that just run into each other so quickly it becomes incomprehensible. Also his pronunciation of certain words and phrases down to his regional accent I suppose, makes this difficult to follow. It became a real distraction and indeed irritating.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

great book

loved the book and really enjoyed that it’s being read by the author which is very rare.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A good story if perhaps a little far fetched.

Entertaining story by I find it hard to believe that the police in Japan are so welcoming to journalists and so very prepared to tell them all the facts of an ongoing investigation. Of course I an not acquainted with police procedures in Japan but I know from my UK police experience as a detective that the press would never be allowed such access and although there is cooperation there are limits to orevent journalists getting a "scoop" at the expense of an investigation. Having said all that its os obvious the the writer has good knowledge of the Yakusa.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great writing, a strong mix of Japanese culture and underworld

Adelstein is obviously someone who made a huge effort to integrate in Japanese culture. While there is some description of his struggles as a foreigner, this is potentially a part of the story that goes underreported. Overall, the book is a strong mix of Japanese culture and descriptions of its underworld

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating story, terrible listen

This is not a good listen, but I will probably buy the book.

The story is truly fascinating and captivating, all the more so because you know it's real.

On the downside though; it just shouldn't have been the author reading it. He doesn't even pause after most sentences which is very tiring. And this is most confusing with conversations as you would often lose track of who is saying what. His voice is also a bit monotonous and droning so I sometimes got a little lost in other daydreams.

The only time it was s real benefit to have Jake read it is when he speaks about the death of someone close to him. I felt the emotions welling up in his cracking voice and that moved me.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

The bad reviews are right

I tried to give this book the benefit of the doubt after reading some of the bad reviews, but I’m afraid they were right. Although in the sample I thought the author’s reading might be adequate; to listen to a whole book just literally sometimes sent me to sleep! What should have been really interesting and exciting experiences were made dull with his monotonous telling of it. My mind often wandered off because his mumbling voice failed to maintain my attention on the story.

I think I will try the TV show again. But this audiobook was a waste of time.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating

Incredibly well read and researched piece on the criminal underworld of Japan at the turn of the millennium.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Eye opening story on Japanese life

I bought this audiobook after finishing season 1 of Tokyo Vice and needing more. This book did not disappoint. I am grateful for the insight into fascinating Japanese culture. The Amazon Top 10 of books Jake Adelstein lists was very revealing and more than a little sad. I happily devoured it all.

There has been some criticism on the way the book is narrated by Adelstein himself. Whilst I appreciate what has been said (the author comes across as a native born Japanese speaking English to a good level, but missing some of the tonal subtleties that would emphasise a sentence’s meaning), the way Adelstein speaks drew me further into the story.

I would recommend this book simply as a Western view on Japanese life and culture. Wonderful!

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