In Tokyo Vice, HBO max’s new highly praised TV series, the audience follows the adventures of journalist Jake Adelstein in the Japanese underworld. The series is inspired by Adelstein’s memoir of the same name, released in 2009. Adelstein was the first westerner to be hired at the Japanese news outlet Yomiuri Shimbun and in the series he encounters corrupt cops, hostess girls and the infamous Japanese mafia, the yakuza.
Critics have questioned how real Adelstein’s account is. However, based on my own experiences as a researcher who has worked with yakuza, the representation of them in the series is not too far off.
In 2017, I published a book on yakuza tattoos, the work was based on fieldwork in Yokohama and I conducted interviews and photographed yakuza members. The series brought me back to my experience with the yakuza, which was both frightening and fun.
