Author: Jake Adelstein in Conversation
** In-person event
Join us for an unforgettable evening with Jake Adelstein, whose memoir Tokyo Vice was adapted to the hit Max TV series. The memoir tells the gripping story of Adelstein’s life as the first non-Japanese staff writer at Japan’s largest newspaper, the Yomiuri Shimbun. In 1993, he broke cultural and professional barriers to cover investigating Japan’s criminal underworld and reporting.
From exposing corruption to witnessing the evolution of Japan’s anti-social forces, Jake brings rare insight into a world few outsiders ever see. He’s flying in from Tokyo to share his behind-the-scenes experience as a reporter in a Japanese newsroom and how he got the scoop that changed his life.
About Jake Adelstein:
Jake Adelstein has been an investigative journalist in Japan since 1993, writing in Japanese and English. He authored Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan (now an HBO series), The Last Yakuza: Life and Death in the Japanese Underworld (2023), and Tokyo Noir: In and Out of Japan's Underworld (2024). He co-hosted the award-winning podcast The Evaporated: Gone with the Gods. A recognized expert on Japan’s organized crime, he has reported for The Daily Beast, Los Angeles Times, Tempura, and VICE. He is also a low-ranking Zen Buddhist priest, trying hard to be kinder and occasionally exorcising hungry ghosts. Adelstein frequently appears as a commentator on Japanese crime and culture, working as a writer and consultant. His forthcoming book, The Devil Takes Bitcoin: Cryptocurrency Crimes and the Japanese Connection, will be published this fall. Date & Time:
Wednesday, May 28th at 5 P.M.
Location: Koret Auditorium, Koret Lobby
San Francisco Public Library | 100 Larkin Street San Francisco, CA 94102
Admission:
FREE!
Agenda:
5:00~ Doors Open
5:30-5:35 Opening Remark & Ramaytush Ohlone Land Acknowledgment, Sachiko Iwabuchi | Japanese
Language Librarian, San Francisco Public Library & Steve Pollock | President, Japan Society of
Northern California
5:40-6:00 Author Talk, Jake Adelstein
6:00-6:10 Fireside chat with Jake Adelstein and Steve Pollock | President, Japan Society of Northern
California
6:10-6:25 Audience Q&A
6:25-6:30 Closing Remarks, Steve Pollock | President, Japan Society of Northern California
6:30-7:00 Networking, Book Signing