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I'm halfway through Tokyo Vice and it is fascinating! Well-researched, easy-to-read, and definitely a page turner!

Mozo -

Thank you for the clarification.
I was thinking that in some sectors of our culture the Mafia is also tolerated (e.g. to "control" labor relations, enforce "security" in neighborhoods, etc.) and even glamorized.
But would you say that the Yakuza have an even greater role to play in the broader Japanese culture (than the Mafia does here)?

Matt, it's because this kind of crime, like the pink industry in Japan, is quasi-legal and has always been somewhat tolerated Japanese society, like the Mafia has been in Italy. I met a principal in a private school in Tokyo. One of his fingers -- I forget which, maybe his ring -- had the first joint cut off, which is usually a sign that you are dealing with Yakuza. I found out that he came from a "family" but got out. His father owned a few private schools throughout japan.

Did you travel to the south of Japan at all like Kagoshima, Was the pace different on the crime sceen?

How does the existence of Yakuza-fan literature make the Yakuza legal?
There is plenty of mafia gossip and literature here, but that doesn't impact its legality.

Why haven't the Japanese police infiltrated the Yakuza the way the FBI has the Mafia?

Lived in Tokyo for three years. Knew some yakuza in Sendagi. A favorite weapon for them is a basaball bat. I would see some men carrying them in suits, usually in the morning on weekends.

Ask Adelstein about Japanese prisons.

Keep this guy talking...sounds like he'll continue to spill the beans...