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Tokyo Vice – Yakuza: Uncovering the Underbelly of Japan with Author Jake Adelstein

May 28 2025, 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm

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Past Event Details: Tokyo Vice – Yakuza: Uncovering the Underbelly of Japan with Author Jake Adelstein

San Francisco Public Library, Koret Auditorium

100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102 United States

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** In-person Event

Join us to hear from Jake Adelstein about Tokyo Vice, his work as a journalist in Japan, and more. This event is in collaboration with the San Francisco Public Library.

Event Details

Date & Time:
Wednesday, May 28th at 5:30 P.M.
*Doors open 5 P.M

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       Jake Adelstein Author Talk
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

Venue:
Koret Auditorium, Koret Lobby
San Francisco Public Library | 100 Larkin Street San Francisco, CA 94102

Parking:
We highly recommend you take public transit to the event (Muni and BART stop nearby at Civid Center Station). If you must drive, please follow the SFPL’s recommendations for nearby parking.

Price:
FREE!

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Video from Tokyo Vice – Yakuza: Uncovering the Underbelly of Japan with Author Jake Adelstein

YouTube video

Our Amazing Speakers

Jake Adelstein | Investigative Journalist

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 BeastLos Angeles TimesTempura, 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.