Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on December 2009

Populated by a cast of yakuza, hostesses and cops who know the clubs of Kabukicho a little too well, Jake Adelstein’s account of his days as a crime reporter for the Yomiuri Shimbun is one of the best things we’ve read since Robert Whiting’s Tokyo Underworld (and if you haven’t already foisted that on one of your relatives, you probably should). Adelstein recounts his tale in the clipped, punchy style of a good detective novel, and Tokyo Vice is just as much of a page-turner. Likely to appeal both to Japanophiles and people who don’t know the first thing about the country.

Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein (hardcover, Pantheon, 352pp), ¥2,377. Available from most foreign book stores and Amazon Japan.