Tokyo Vice

The account covers Adelstein's career in Tokyo, starting in 1993 when he was hired as a rookie reporter for Yomiuri Shimbun.[3] As a cadet,[4] he describes being taken under the wing of Sekiguchi, an older detective.[5] Adelstein was initially assigned to "tacky" Saitama, and the memoir covers his next 12 years as a staffer for the paper, describing 80-hour work weeks, relationship difficulties, and the interactions between crime reporters and the police. Specific cases involve the search for the killer of Lucie Blackman,[3] and the memoir also details death threats after he published an expose on Tadamasa Goto.[6] He also uncovered that Saitama Prefecture was altering scientific data on dioxin contamination.[7]

Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan is a 2009 memoir by Jake Adelstein of his years living in Tokyo as the first non-Japanese reporter working for one of Japan's largest newspapers.[1][2] He initially had a deal to release the book in Japan. However, after Adelstein wrote an expose for the Washington Post concerning the FBI granting visas to yakuza members, Adelstein sought police protection[3] in 2009[8] and left the country.[6]

Adelstein wrote in 2013 that: "The book is translated into Japanese but no publisher will touch it. It steps on too many toes."[9] He described how in September 2008,[7] the Japanese publisher "got cold feet and backed out." Stated Adelstein, "a risk assessment was done and the conclusion at the time was that publishing the book could result in unpleasant things like arson, dump trucks being smashed into the (publisher’s) building, and the kidnapping of the publisher’s employees and other acts of violence... I don’t blame them for opting out." He wrote that the English version and Japanese version, which he wrote without a translator, are essentially the same, but with sources "more obscured" in the Japanese version.[3] After trying and failing to have the book published in Japan, it was published by Random House and Pantheon Books.[3] Kirkus Reviews called it "Not just a hard-boiled true-crime thriller, but an engrossing, troubling look at crime and human exploitation in Japan."[10]

In August 2013 a film adaptation of the memoir was announced.[2] Adelstein co-wrote the story for the film version of Tokyo Vice with American playwright J. T. Rogers, and Rogers then wrote the screenplay.[11][12] Anthony Mandler was announced to direct the film, with John Lesher and Adam Kassan serving as producers, and Binn Jakupi serving as an executive producer.[11] The film was expected to begin filming in Tokyo in mid-2015, with Daniel Radcliffe set to play Adelstein.[13][14][15][16] Production never commenced, however.[17]

In June 2019, a television adaptation of the memoir was announced.[18][19] The ten-part television series is set to star Ansel Elgort playing Jake Adelstein, an American journalist who embeds himself into the Tokyo Vice police squad to reveal corruption. The series will also star Ken Watanabe[20] and will be written and executive produced by Tony Award-winning playwright J. T. Rogers,[21] with Endeavor Content serving as the studio. In October 2019, it was announced that Michael Mann would be directing the pilot episode, as well as serving as executive producer.[21] John Lesher, Emily Gerson Saines, and Destin Daniel Cretton will also serve as executive producers, alongside J.T. Rogers, Mann, Elgort and Watanabe.

In addition to Elgort and Watanabe, the Tokyo Vice cast will also include Rachel Keller and Ella Rumpf.

The 10-episode straight-to-series Tokyo Vice will be on HBO Max.[17]

• Random House
• Tokyo Vice on imdb