Jake Adelstein
Verified
As seen in:
The Daily Beast,
LinkedIn,
CNN,
CNN en Español,
Forbes,
Medium,
MSN,
MSN Australia,
MSN UK,
Business Insider,
The Guardian
and
Covers:
japan, sex work, crime, buddhism, organized crime, japanese subculture, yakuza, injustice, kit-kats, police, corporate malfeasance
Doesn't Cover:
akb48, the beatles
調査報道記者・Tokyo Vice (原作の著者) Investigative journalist, Zen Buddhist Priest, Paladin, Social Justice 🥷 Ninja, Author of #TokyoVice #TokyoNoir 禅僧 @thedailybeast
Articles by Jake Adelstein
The Most Likely Murderer In Japan: Your Own Family
Sign in to view more content Create your free account or sign in to continue your search Sign in with Email New to LinkedIn? Join now By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.
The Most Likely Murderer In Japan: Your Own Family
Or, there’s no place deadlier than home. Written with Himari Seamans By Jake Adelstein and Himari Seamans In America, we always like to say, “There’s no place like home.” Well, in Japan, there’s no place like home where you’re more likely to be killed.
The Unwelcome (Tatami) Mat
Permanent residency may be permanently out of reach for the majority of Foreigners who called Japan home. The new barista at Cafe Japan has rolled up the welcome to tatami mat and put a “Japanese only” sign on the door. We all knew it was coming, but some of us hoped to reserve a seat before the management changed. The details are in the chart. The fine print doesn’t tell you how devastating it really is. By the way, if there’s a mistake in the chart, let me know.
The bullshit response you get from people when you raise the question about Japan’s harsh and xenophobic immigration policies
Here’s a classic response to any criticism of Japan’s government policy—by a non-Japanese—by the usual suspects and my answer. First of all, pointing out that the United States is a dumpster fire of xenophobia and bad immigration policy doesn’t make Japan any better https://tokyopaladin.substack.com/p/the-impermanent-resident?utm_source=direct&r=3pdqa4&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=post%20viewer That's classic whataboutism. Even if the United States is worse, so what?
The Impermanent Resident
Japan’s new permanent residency rules are a bait-and-switch, and they will cost Japan more than it thinks The Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁, ISA) published its draft revision of the Guidelines on Permanent Residence Permission on August 4, 2026, and opened a one-month public comment period running to September 4. But public commentary is always open in the form of social media posts and comment sections.
NOIR, Japan's hard-boiled bittersweet answer to OREOS
Motwu (もとぅ), an illustrator from Japan, drew this picture illustrating Noir cookies portraying Japan in with mostly typically noir colors. Art by real artists carries far more character than AI-generated work, so please support artists like her. Motwu also takes commissions: find her on Instagram at @mo_20co5 NOIR, Japan's hard-boiled bittersweet answer to OREOS Editor Jayson Chun’s note: Most of us think of Japan as a place famous for sushi, ramen, or matcha.
Code Blue : The Serial Killer, the Cover-Up, and a Two-Generation Quest for Justice
In the summer of 1992, patients at a veterans’ hospital in mid-Missouri began dying under suspicious circumstances—but the institution meant to protect them was busy protecting itself. Three decades later, journalist and bestselling author of Tokyo Vice Jake Adelstein comes home to pick up the case his father never stopped investigating. Strange things were happening at the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital. Patients who should have gone home were never making it out.
Welcome to Japanistan, where the foreign residents who buried their lives here aren't welcome anymore. It's not a kind policy–and not even a wise one
Japan just told the foreigners who built lives here, who learned the language, paid the taxes, raised the kids, buried the years — you were too slow. No permanent residency. Not because you didn't earn it, but because it's easier to blame 3% of the population than to answer for thirty years of decline. Foreigners in Japan are obligated to carry their residence cards at all times. Failure to do so now might result in your permanent visa being erased.
How Japan’s Future Empress Kicked The Ass Of Japan’s First Female Prime Minister: Why Takaichi’s Enemies Now Outnumber Her Supporters
Technically, Princess Aiko is not Japan’s future empress. An empress is generally the woman married to an emperor. Yet, Aiko, the daughter and only child of the current Emperor and Empress, is the woman a large majority of Japanese people appear willing to see become emperor. In the conservative world of Japanese politics this is different in the way that “invited to dinner” is different from “permitted to enter the building.” Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein is a reader-supported publication.
Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein
On the afternoon of May 12th, in an Osaka High Court Courtroom, Presiding Judge Ogura Tetsuhiro took roughly three minutes to shatter years of police work, shame the Hyogo Prefectural Police and Kobe District Prosecutors’ Office, and let a yakuza boss go free. In Japan—where the conviction rate after criminal indictment is 99%— this was a stunning victory for the boss and his organization, the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan’s largest organized crime syndicate.
Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein
When a man tells you that they’ve killed someone, you should listen. Especially if you're the police. That’s not what happened. Sometimes, the police are warned BEFORE a murder, and still do nothing. 42-year-old Oyama Kenji (大山賢二) was sleeping on the sidewalk when the Hyogo Prefectural police woke him up. The wanted poster for Oyama It was around 10:20 P.M. on a Saturday night, May 16. Officers asked him what he was doing and he answered frankly.
Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein
Discover more from Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein Articles and essays about Japan and the world, plus content from the archives. Over 3,000 subscribers Already have an account? Sign in The Japanese far-right wants you to think Japan didn't have any choice over its constitution. Eight decades without a change in wording says otherwise. There’s a story that Japan’s right-wing and/or uninformed newspaper columnists constantly tell us about the Japanese constitution. You’ve heard it.
Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein
Let us take a moment to reflect on Noir, Oreo, and the quiet dignity of getting it right The Oreo was born in 1912. That’s a long time to be in the sandwich cookie business. Long enough to get comfortable. Long enough to stop trying. Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. For decades, Japan’s Oreos weren’t made by Nabisco at all.
Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein
This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts
Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein
The “3/11” earthquake hit eastern Japan at 2:46 PM, March 11, 2011 —exactly 15 years ago. It started a chain of events that led to the nuclear meltdown of three reactors at Fukushima Daiichi plant. That should have been a wake-up call. The clock to the next nuclear accident is already ticking. Japan’s nuclear power plants are time bombs. They haven’t been defused—just re-labeled, re-certified, and put back into circulation.
The Yakuza Boss Who Wasn't A Yakuza: The Tragicomic Story of Takeshi Ebisawa
You probably saw the headlines. Yakuza Leader Sentenced to 20 Years for Trafficking Nuclear Material This was the headline in The New York Times on March 4th. The problem is that the first two words in that headline aren’t true.
Japan's Biggest Scammers: The Cops?
You think that Japan is a nation of law and order, but recently the National Police Agency announced that the biggest scammers in Japan were: Japanese cops. Japan’s worst fraudsters wear a badge, talk like cops, and can quote article numbers of the Penal Code with the ease of a veteran prosecutor. They know your full name, your bank, your rough balance, and the last four digits of your account.
How A Cheeseburger Made A Yakuza Boss Homeless
Discover more from Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein Articles and essays about Japan and the world, plus content from the archives. Over 3,000 subscribers Already have an account? Sign in The biggest threat to the yakuza, Japan's organized crime, may not be the police. It may be the civil courts and the burden of "employer liability". In the yakuza world, the mighty keep falling...and falling. Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein is a reader-supported publication.
How A Cheeseburger Made A Yakuza Boss Homeless
In the yakuza world, the mighty keep falling...and falling. What happens when you stop treating gangsters as outlaws beyond the system, and start treating them like employers inside it? Kunio Inoue, the aging boss of the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, is watching his home in Kobe’s Kita Ward head to compulsory auction. A Tokyo consulting firm took him to court over damage caused by a former subordinate.
A Bad Day for a Funeral; A Good Day For A Wedding
Some mornings you wake up to sunshine. Some mornings you wake up to rain. And some mornings you wake up to 友引 (ともびき, tomobiki)—which is when the trouble starts. Or the good fortune begins. Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Tomobiki is one of the six traditional fortune days called 六曜 (ろくよう, rokuyō).
弔えない極悪の極道
山口組後藤組・及び後藤忠政組長の特徴 (警察庁資料（1999年）抜粋） 後藤忠政こと 後藤忠正 後藤組組長 前科９犯 昭和17.09.16生 綿密、計画的に犯行（焦らず長期的に構える） 役割分担（下見、ヒットマン、見届役等）を明確にし、その担当者は本スジを知らされていない。（突き上げ不能） 犯行には窃取した県外ナンバーを取り付けた乗用車を使用し、突き上げを不能にする。資金面で余裕があるため、焦らずジワジワと相手に音を上げさせる。（事件化が困難） 報復売名事件の敢行 個人犯罪は比較的少ないが、組織の面子や方針に逆らう者については、執拗に組織的に敢行する。 組織内外に対するアピール性のある事件を積極的に敢行し、組織の威力や地位の向上に利用する。 攻撃目標に対しては、相手、手段を選ばない。女、子供や衆人監視の中でも敢行し、凄惨性を見せつけるため、その後の被害届が困難になっている。...
Valentine's Day in Japan Is It's Own Strange Thing | Jake Adelstein
Sign in to view more content Create your free account or sign in to continue your search Sign in with Email New to LinkedIn? Join now By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.
Valentine's Day in Japan Is It's Own Strange Thing
Japan has a unique way of celebrating western holidays—although that slowly changes with every passing year.. On Christmas Eve, men and women used to check into Japan’s ubiquitous, pay by the hour, slightly kinky boutique hotels, also known as “love hotels” and celebrate the event with raucous but tasteful intercourse. On Valentine’s Day, the women buy chocolates for men.
4 Yakuza, 4 Livers, 100+ Dead Americans; No problem. The UCLA Report You've Never Seen
For the first time, we are publishing UCLA’s shoddy investigation into how four yakuza bosses got liver transplants at UCLA while hardworking Americans died. Tadamasa Goto, homicidal yakuza boss, who received a liver transplant at UCLA, inspired the character Shinzo Tozawa in the TV series, Tokyo Vice. Goto died on February 8th. Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
The Devil Takes Bitcoin--"Down Dark Roads of Silk and Cyberspace" | Jake Adelstein
LinkedIn and 3rd parties use essential and non-essential cookies to provide, secure, analyze and improve our Services, and to show you relevant ads (including professional and job ads) on and off LinkedIn. Learn more in our Cookie Policy. Select Accept to consent or Reject to decline non-essential cookies for this use. You can update your choices at any time in your settings.
The High Priest of Thuggery is Dead
The High Priest Of Thuggery: Tadamasa Goto In his post-yakuza years, Tadamasa Goto ran a criminal empire in Cambodia and tried to revive dog-fighting as a sport. Cruelty for fun and profit. That’s our Goto. Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Jake Adelstein (@tokyovice)
The app for independent voices Get startedLearn more
Japan's Elections Sunday: 6-7? 30-70? Ms. Takaichi has a 70% approval rating, her party? 30%
Japan loves a strong lead character. Always has. Put someone at the center of the frame, light them well, and the audience forgives the creaking set behind them. That’s the story of Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s first female Prime Minister, and the election she’s about to win—maybe. Takaichi is popular. Really popular. Approval numbers in the 60s and 70s.
Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein
We use cookies to improve your experience, for analytics, and for marketing. You can accept, reject, or manage your preferences. See our privacy policy .
Everybody Knows What's Really In The Epstein Files And Who Donald Trump Works For.
This letter announcing the death of Jeffery Epstein from the Department of Justice was released with the Epstein files in February. The odd thing about the letter is that it is dated August 9th, the day before Epstein actually died. Everybody knows he was murdered. Everybody knows who had it done. That’s how it goes. Everybody knows.
Everybody Knows What's Really In The Epstein Files And Who Donald Trump Works For.
Donald Trump committed horrific acts with his "buddy". In 2018, Epstein gave the Kremlin intel on his former friend. Putin has owned Trump ever since. Everybody knows. This letter announcing the death of Jeffery Epstein from the Department of Justice was released with the Epstein files in February. The odd thing about the letter is that it is dated August 9th, the day before Epstein actually died. Everybody knows he was murdered. Everybody knows who had it done. That’s how it goes. Everybody knows.
From Missouri in 1992 to Minneapolis in 2026: The Murder Cover-Up Playbook Never Changed.
In 1992, too many patients were dying at the Harry Truman VA on Ward 4 East. My dad, Dr. Edward Adelstein, ordered an investigation. Epidemiologist Dr. Christensen did the stats. There was no denying it—one nurse had killed at least 40 veterans. Agnes Conover (left), a WWII war veteran, was expected to leave the Harry S. Truman VA Hospital and return to her loving family. Then a nurse working there killed her. Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein is a reader-supported publication.
Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein
Adopted from earlier material mentioned in Tokyo Vice TO DIE LIKE A DOG “The thing I admire about wild animals is that they don’t flatter, they don’t whine or grovel; they don’t regret the past or worry about the future. Animals live to satisfy their hunger and their lust. And if you ask me, that’s the only pure way of life there is.” —Gen Sekine, 1994 The …
The 108 Bells
I wish that I was wishing you a Happy Year of the Horse. Almost every year in Japan, I spend the last days of December preparing to send out New Year’s cards (年賀状 / nengajō). It’s an important part of Japanese tradition to send these auspicious wishes for a happy new year to everyone in your social circle. They are the Christmas cards of Japanese life, …
PSA Guest Column: “Tokyo Vice” Author Examines the MDMA Smuggling Case against “Emily in Paris’ Actor in Japan
Legendary Japanese Crime Reporter Jake Adelstein Weighs in on Case of American Actor facing MDMA Smuggling Charges in Japan By Jake Adelstein Editor’s Note: Jake Adelstein is an American journalist and author who has spent most of his career in Japan. He is the author of Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan, which inspired the 2022 HBO Max original streaming television series Tokyo Vice, starring Ansel Elgort as Adelstein.
Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein
If you care about journalism, justice, the rights of women in Japan, or what it costs to tell the truth, go see Black Box Diaries. It opens today, Friday, December 12th in Tokyo. The Peabody Award Winning Film has never been commercially screened here and there are credible reports that the Japanese government has even pressured overseas film festivals …
Yamagami’s Trial Begins: Abe’s Assassin Is Clearly Guilty. So Why the Hero Worship?
Tetsuya Yamagami is finally standing trial at the Nara District Court for the 2022 assassination of Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest reigning Prime Minister. There’s no question of his guilt. He has been condemned as a cold-blooded killer, but to some in Japan, he’s a hero. It has been three years since Abe was shot and killed in Nara while campaigning for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a party he once controlled.
Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein
This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts
Hungry Ghosts
Have you got ghosts? If you’ve had a dose Of a greedy ghost, baby You better call… —Well, maybe we can help. I’m an investigative journalist by trade. My other job is Zen Buddhist priest. I’m not good at it but I try. October 24th, 2025 was Osegaki (お施餓鬼): a Japanese Buddhist ritual performed to ease the suffering of hungry ghosts (gaki/餓鬼). It involves offering food, incense, and prayers to the deceased and wandering spirits—especially those without living relatives.
New Prime Minister Takaichi Is Obsessed With Strangling Spies, Muzzling Journalists, And Dismantling the Constitution
This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts
Digital Gold, Different Rules: How Japan’s Cryptocurrency Hacks Reveals a Nation’s Two-Tiered Justice System
The phone started ringing at four in the morning. That’s never a good sign in this business—4am phone calls mean that there’s been a grisly murder, or a terrible accident. But this was different. This was about cryptocurrency, which occupies a niche in the space-time continuum where the clock never stops ticking and the thieves never sleep.
Yakuza and Bonsai: A Brief History Of Japan's Attempts To Tame Gangsters (PART 1)
Why is anti-organized crime cop in Japan like a Bonsai gardner? Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Because he trims the branches, keeping them in check, but never pulls out the roots. October 1st, 2025 marked the 14th anniversary of Japan’s anti-organized crime ordinances achieving national law parity.
In Japan, the customer is no longer a god. And Mie Prefecture is going to exorcise the devils.
They say in Japan, *“the customer is God.”* But lately some of those gods have been acting less like benevolent deities and more like vengeful spirits, the kind that demand endless apologies and human sacrifices—in the form of exhausted clerks and shaken part-time workers. Mie Prefecture has decided enough is enough. It plans to introduce Japan’s first ordinance that would make such behavior punishable by law. The age of divine impunity at the cash register or kiosk might finally be ending.
日本版“女性トランプ”の出現：高市早苗は、安倍2.0以降の日本の民主主義にとって最悪のニュース
はじめまして。僕は1993年から日本で記者をしています。最初の仕事は保守系の読売新聞で、１２年間働いて２００５年依願退職しました。米国務省関連機関でも働いたこともあります。2009年から何冊か本も出しました。たぶん一番知られているのは『Tokyo Vice（トーキョー・バイス）』トウキョウ・バイス: アメリカ人記者の警察回り体験記 ――日本の警察担当記者としての経験をもとに書いたもので、ドラマにもなりました。 日本が大好きで、子どもたちもハーフです。ずっと日本の政治とヤクザの取材を続けてきましたが、ときどき、特に自民党を見ていると、「ヤクザとそう変わらないな」と感じることがあります。党の成り立ちを知っていれば、それも納得できる話です。 今回書いたのは、僕がもともと英語で書いた記事の「翻訳」ではなく、同じ資…
Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein
はじめまして。僕は1993年から日本で記者をしています。最初の仕事は保守系の読売新聞で、１２年間働いて２００５年依願退職しました。米国務省関連機関でも働いたこともあります。2009年から何冊か本も出しました。たぶん一番知られているのは『Tokyo Vice（トーキョー・バイス）』トウキョウ・バイス: アメリカ人記者の警察回り体験記 ――日本の警察担当記者としての経験をもとに書いたもので、ドラマにもなりました。 日本が大好きで、子どもたちもハーフです。ずっと日本の政治とヤクザの取材を続けてきましたが、ときどき、特に自民党を見ていると、「ヤクザとそう変わらないな」と感じることがあります。党の成り立ちを知っていれば、それも納得できる話です。 今回書いたのは、僕がもともと英語で書いた記事の「翻訳」ではなく、同じ資…
Tokyo Paladin with Jake Adelstein
はじめまして。僕は1993年から日本で記者をしています。最初の仕事は保守系の読売新聞で、１２年間働いて２００５年依願退職しました。米国務省関連機関でも働いたこともあります。2009年から何冊か本も出しました。たぶん一番知られているのは『Tokyo Vice（トーキョー・バイス）』トウキョウ・バイス: アメリカ人記者の警察回り体験記 ――日本の警察担当記者としての経験をもとに書いたもので、ドラマにもなりました。 日本が大好きで、子どもたちもハーフです。ずっと日本の政治とヤクザの取材を続けてきましたが、ときどき、特に自民党を見ていると、「ヤクザとそう変わらないな」と感じることがあります。党の成り立ちを知っていれば、それも納得できる話です。 今回書いたのは、僕がもともと英語で書いた記事の「翻訳」ではなく、同じ資…
The Insane Book Of Sanae: An Irreverent Guide to Japan's First FemalePrime Minister (Probably), chosen by The Gods.
A work in progress — contributions welcome. If you have any links to articles about Sanae Takaichi or some of her own writings, add them to the comments. If any of the links aren’t working, let me know. And if you have questions, try to do some research before you ask. This substack has a staff of two people. When you tell people what Takaichi really stand for you might hear: “Good lord, she must be insane!” To which you should reply. “No, she’s Sanae. And you mean, good lord(s)—with an S.
The Rise of Japan’s Female Trump: Why Takaichi Sanae Is the Worst Thing to Happen to Japanese Democracy Since Abe 2.0
Japan just made history, though not the kind anyone wants to frame. Japan finally broke the glass ceiling, only to find it was the lid of a coffin. Progress but only if you think puppy-shooting ICE leading nazi Kristi Noem would be a step forward as President--because she’s a woman, right. Takaichi endorsed “Hitler’s Election Strategy” in the ‘90s, threatened TV networks as communications minister, and claims foreigners abuse Nara’s deer without evidence.
The Rise of Japan’s Female Trump: Why Takaichi Sanae Is the Worst Thing to Happen to Japanese Democracy Since Abe 2.0
Japan just made history, though not the kind anyone wants to frame. Japan finally broke the glass ceiling, only to find it was the lid of a coffin. Progress but only if you think puppy-shooting ICE leading nazi Kristi Noem would be a step forward as President--because she’s a woman, right. Takaichi endorsed “Hitler’s Election Strategy” in the ‘90s, threatened TV networks as communications minister, and claims foreigners abuse Nara’s deer without evidence.
Ghosts in the newsroom: How Abe’s Japan became Trump’s blueprint
Japan had Trump before America did: Shinzo Abe, grandson of a war criminal, muzzled the press, bullied broadcasters, and faked statistics. Now Trump, the GOP, and Disney are replaying the script. Japan had its Trump long before America did, and his name was Shinzo Abe. Back in 2014 and 2015, Shinzo Abe, grandson of a war criminal, and his backers successfully brought Japan’s largest media organisations to heel. They punished critical coverage with a ruthlessness that’s now being echoed stateside.
Show More
loading
Actions
Get in touch with Jake
Contact Jake, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack