Author: Paul Murphy
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 1462918972
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 258
Book Description
"This is a book I wish I'd written. It's brilliantly researched, full of detail and illuminating…" --Jake Adelstein, author of Tokyo Ice Uncover the shocking world of the Japanese courtroom. In a country where nearly all defendants plead guilty, the interesting part is what happens between the plea and the sentencing. In True Crime Japan, journalist and longtime resident of Japan Paul Murphy delves into a year's worth of criminal court cases in Matsumoto, a city located 140 miles to the west of Tokyo. The nine defendants in these cases range from ruthless mobsters to average citizens with a variety of methods and motives. Using court documents and interviews, Murphy makes a point of including the perspectives of the defendants, as well as those of their families, neighbors, and lawyers. He explores not only the motives of offenders but the culture of crime and punishment in Japan. The nine cases include: "Late in Life" -- A wealthy octogenarian is put in jail for stealing fried chicken "Mama's Boys" -- A disbelieving family unveils their son's role as a yakuza gangster. "Mother Killers" -- A middle-aged carpenter beats his 91-year old mother to death and goes to work the following day, leaving the body for his wife to find. True Crime Japan provides an unusual lens through which to view Japanese society and its emphasis on honor, shame, and conformity. Murphy's in-depth analysis of the court system reveals Japan to be, perhaps surprisingly, a land of true individuals.
Tokyo Underworld
Author: Robert Whiting
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307765172
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 402
Book Description
A riveting account of the role of Americans in the evolution of the Tokyo underworld in the years since 1945. In the ashes of postwar Japan lay a gold mine for certain opportunistic, expatriate Americans. Addicted to the volatile energy of Tokyo's freewheeling underworld, they formed ever-shifting but ever-profitable alliances with warring Japanese and Korean gangsters. At the center of this world was Nick Zappetti, an ex-marine from New York City who arrived in Tokyo in 1945, and whose restaurant soon became the rage throughout the city and the chief watering hole for celebrities, diplomats, sports figures, and mobsters. Tokyo Underworld chronicles the half-century rise and fall of the fortunes of Zappetti and his comrades, drawing parallels to the great shift of wealth from America to Japan in the late 1980s and the changes in Japanese society and U.S.-Japan relations that resulted. In doing so, Whiting exposes Japan's extraordinary "underground empire": a web of powerful alliances among crime bosses, corporate chairmen, leading politicians, and public figures. It is an amazing story told with a galvanizing blend of history and reportage.
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307765172
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 402
Book Description
A riveting account of the role of Americans in the evolution of the Tokyo underworld in the years since 1945. In the ashes of postwar Japan lay a gold mine for certain opportunistic, expatriate Americans. Addicted to the volatile energy of Tokyo's freewheeling underworld, they formed ever-shifting but ever-profitable alliances with warring Japanese and Korean gangsters. At the center of this world was Nick Zappetti, an ex-marine from New York City who arrived in Tokyo in 1945, and whose restaurant soon became the rage throughout the city and the chief watering hole for celebrities, diplomats, sports figures, and mobsters. Tokyo Underworld chronicles the half-century rise and fall of the fortunes of Zappetti and his comrades, drawing parallels to the great shift of wealth from America to Japan in the late 1980s and the changes in Japanese society and U.S.-Japan relations that resulted. In doing so, Whiting exposes Japan's extraordinary "underground empire": a web of powerful alliances among crime bosses, corporate chairmen, leading politicians, and public figures. It is an amazing story told with a galvanizing blend of history and reportage.
Tokyo Vice
Author: Jake Adelstein
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307378942
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 354
Book Description
NOW A MAX ORIGINAL SERIES. A riveting true-life tale of newspaper noir and Japanese organized crime from an American investigative journalist who "pulls the curtain back on ... [an] element of Japanese society that few Westerners ever see" (San Francisco Examiner). Jake Adelstein is the only American journalist ever to have been admitted to the insular Tokyo Metropolitan Police Press Club, where for twelve years he covered the dark side of Japan: extortion, murder, human trafficking, fiscal corruption, and of course, the yakuza. But when his final scoop exposed a scandal that reverberated all the way from the neon soaked streets of Tokyo to the polished Halls of the FBI and resulted in a death threat for him and his family, Adelstein decided to step down. Then, he fought back. In Tokyo Vice he delivers an unprecedented look at Japanese culture and searing memoir about his rise from cub reporter to seasoned journalist with a price on his head.
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307378942
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 354
Book Description
NOW A MAX ORIGINAL SERIES. A riveting true-life tale of newspaper noir and Japanese organized crime from an American investigative journalist who "pulls the curtain back on ... [an] element of Japanese society that few Westerners ever see" (San Francisco Examiner). Jake Adelstein is the only American journalist ever to have been admitted to the insular Tokyo Metropolitan Police Press Club, where for twelve years he covered the dark side of Japan: extortion, murder, human trafficking, fiscal corruption, and of course, the yakuza. But when his final scoop exposed a scandal that reverberated all the way from the neon soaked streets of Tokyo to the polished Halls of the FBI and resulted in a death threat for him and his family, Adelstein decided to step down. Then, he fought back. In Tokyo Vice he delivers an unprecedented look at Japanese culture and searing memoir about his rise from cub reporter to seasoned journalist with a price on his head.
Yakuza
Author: David E. Kaplan
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520215627
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 400
Book Description
"A fascinating study of how criminal enterprise can infect the very heart of modern capitalism. Here is the backstage world of political influence and organized crime in the world's second largest economy... by far the most detailed and even-handed study of this important and neglected subject."--John W. Dower, author of Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II Reviews of original edition: "A superb study of Japan's underworld that is both entertaining and revealing. The authors miss none of the color and curious detail of the yakuza style, but at the same time go far beyond surface observations."--Far Eastern Economic Review "The book is laden with fascinating information, some of it heretofore unavailable in English."--Washington Post "Blend the Mafia with the Masons. Let them simmer a while, then fold in the Ku Klux Klan and you'll have the yakuza. . .. Important and timely. . .Yakuza will serve for years as the source document on Japanese organized crime."--San Jose Mercury News "State-of-the-art investigative reporting. . .must reading for those who consider themselves already highly conversant with yakuza activities. . .disturbing."--Journal of Asian Studies
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520215627
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 400
Book Description
"A fascinating study of how criminal enterprise can infect the very heart of modern capitalism. Here is the backstage world of political influence and organized crime in the world's second largest economy... by far the most detailed and even-handed study of this important and neglected subject."--John W. Dower, author of Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II Reviews of original edition: "A superb study of Japan's underworld that is both entertaining and revealing. The authors miss none of the color and curious detail of the yakuza style, but at the same time go far beyond surface observations."--Far Eastern Economic Review "The book is laden with fascinating information, some of it heretofore unavailable in English."--Washington Post "Blend the Mafia with the Masons. Let them simmer a while, then fold in the Ku Klux Klan and you'll have the yakuza. . .. Important and timely. . .Yakuza will serve for years as the source document on Japanese organized crime."--San Jose Mercury News "State-of-the-art investigative reporting. . .must reading for those who consider themselves already highly conversant with yakuza activities. . .disturbing."--Journal of Asian Studies
Shame and the Captives
Author: Thomas Keneally
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476734666
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
“If the legendary Schindler’s List was not enough to showcase Thomas Keneally’s literary mastery, then [this novel] surely will” (New York Daily News) as the Booker Prize-winning author reimagines from all sides the drastic true events of the night more than one thousand Japanese POWs staged the largest and bloodiest prison escape of World War II. Alice is living on her father-in-law’s farm on the edge of an Australian country town, while her husband is held prisoner in Europe. When Giancarlo, an Italian inmate at the prisoner-of-war camp down the road, is assigned to work on the farm, she hopes that being kind to him will somehow influence her husband’s treatment. What she doesn’t anticipate is how dramatically Giancarlo will change the way she understands both herself and the wider world. What most challenges Alice and her fellow townspeople is the utter foreignness of the thousand-plus Japanese inmates and their deeply held code of honor, which the camp commanders fatally misread. Mortified by being taken alive in battle and preferring a violent death to the shame of living, the Japanese prisoners plan an outbreak with shattering and far-reaching consequences for all the citizens around them. In a career spanning half a century, Thomas Keneally has proven brilliant at exploring ordinary lives caught up in extraordinary events. With this profoundly gripping and thought-provoking novel, inspired by a notorious incident in New South Wales in 1944, he once again shows why he is celebrated as a writer who “looks into the heart of the human condition with a piercing intelligence that few can match” (Sunday Telegraph).
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476734666
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
“If the legendary Schindler’s List was not enough to showcase Thomas Keneally’s literary mastery, then [this novel] surely will” (New York Daily News) as the Booker Prize-winning author reimagines from all sides the drastic true events of the night more than one thousand Japanese POWs staged the largest and bloodiest prison escape of World War II. Alice is living on her father-in-law’s farm on the edge of an Australian country town, while her husband is held prisoner in Europe. When Giancarlo, an Italian inmate at the prisoner-of-war camp down the road, is assigned to work on the farm, she hopes that being kind to him will somehow influence her husband’s treatment. What she doesn’t anticipate is how dramatically Giancarlo will change the way she understands both herself and the wider world. What most challenges Alice and her fellow townspeople is the utter foreignness of the thousand-plus Japanese inmates and their deeply held code of honor, which the camp commanders fatally misread. Mortified by being taken alive in battle and preferring a violent death to the shame of living, the Japanese prisoners plan an outbreak with shattering and far-reaching consequences for all the citizens around them. In a career spanning half a century, Thomas Keneally has proven brilliant at exploring ordinary lives caught up in extraordinary events. With this profoundly gripping and thought-provoking novel, inspired by a notorious incident in New South Wales in 1944, he once again shows why he is celebrated as a writer who “looks into the heart of the human condition with a piercing intelligence that few can match” (Sunday Telegraph).
You Only Live Twice
Author: Ian Fleming
Publisher: Good Press
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 183
Book Description
"You Only Live Twice" by Ian Fleming. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.
Publisher: Good Press
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 183
Book Description
"You Only Live Twice" by Ian Fleming. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.
Shocking Crimes of Postwar Japan
Author: Mark Schreiber
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 9784900737341
Category : Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
When nerve gas was dispersed in Tokyo's subway system in March 1995, Japanese and non-Japanese alike were shocked. Wasn't Japan supposed to be an orderly, peaceful, and above all safe society with virtually no crime? Not so. Mark Schreiber dispels this stereotype with a fascinating book in which he chronicles some of Japan's most astonishing crimes in the half-century since World War II: a bank robbery and murder in which the killings are carried out by poison; the theft of 300 million yen by a man who is able to peacefully convince four bank employees to step outside of their car for a moment; and, of course, the outrageous activities of Japan's most notorious religious group, AUM Supreme Truth. The social and cultural circumstances attending many of the crimes are equally bizarre, and Schreiber addresses these, as well. Why did Okubo Kiyoshi's rape victims continue meeting him for dates after he violated them? How did Japanese ethics step in, when the evidence didn't stand on its own, to condemn Miura Kazuyoshi for killing his wife? Why did none of the journalists recording the murder of Nagano Kazuo try to intervene to try to save his life?
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 9784900737341
Category : Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
When nerve gas was dispersed in Tokyo's subway system in March 1995, Japanese and non-Japanese alike were shocked. Wasn't Japan supposed to be an orderly, peaceful, and above all safe society with virtually no crime? Not so. Mark Schreiber dispels this stereotype with a fascinating book in which he chronicles some of Japan's most astonishing crimes in the half-century since World War II: a bank robbery and murder in which the killings are carried out by poison; the theft of 300 million yen by a man who is able to peacefully convince four bank employees to step outside of their car for a moment; and, of course, the outrageous activities of Japan's most notorious religious group, AUM Supreme Truth. The social and cultural circumstances attending many of the crimes are equally bizarre, and Schreiber addresses these, as well. Why did Okubo Kiyoshi's rape victims continue meeting him for dates after he violated them? How did Japanese ethics step in, when the evidence didn't stand on its own, to condemn Miura Kazuyoshi for killing his wife? Why did none of the journalists recording the murder of Nagano Kazuo try to intervene to try to save his life?
Kijo
Author: Tara a Devlin
Publisher: Independently Published
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Book Description
Evil can lurk anywhere. A grandmother whose reign of terror over several decades destroyed the lives of numerous families, including her own. A nurse who ordered the deaths of her friends' family members so she could collect their life insurance money... by making them do it for her. A faith healer worshipped and trusted by many, even when people started dying around her... Kijo: Japan's Most Notorious Female Criminals Vol. 1 features 19 horrifying, brutal, and bizarre cases carried out entirely by women. Grandmothers, nurses, businesswomen, housewives, gang matriarchs... Though they may look it to the outside, these are no ordinary women, and their acts shocked an entire nation. Click that buy now button right now to find out why...
Publisher: Independently Published
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Book Description
Evil can lurk anywhere. A grandmother whose reign of terror over several decades destroyed the lives of numerous families, including her own. A nurse who ordered the deaths of her friends' family members so she could collect their life insurance money... by making them do it for her. A faith healer worshipped and trusted by many, even when people started dying around her... Kijo: Japan's Most Notorious Female Criminals Vol. 1 features 19 horrifying, brutal, and bizarre cases carried out entirely by women. Grandmothers, nurses, businesswomen, housewives, gang matriarchs... Though they may look it to the outside, these are no ordinary women, and their acts shocked an entire nation. Click that buy now button right now to find out why...
The Tokyo Zodiac Murders
Author: Soji Shimada
Publisher: Pushkin Vertigo
ISBN: 1782271422
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 321
Book Description
One of The Guardian’s “Top 10 Locked Room Mysteries” An amateur detective races to solve a decades-old murder mystery in this “bloody and bizarre” Japanese crime novel with a twist hailed as “one of the most original” (Daily Mail). Astrologer, fortune teller, and self-styled detective Kiyoshi Mitarai must solve a macabre murder mystery that has baffled Japan for 40 years—in just one week. With the help of his freelance illustrator friend, Kiyoshi sets out to answer the questions that have haunted the country ever since: Who murdered the artist Umezawa, raped and killed his daughter, and then chopped up the bodies of six others to create Azoth, ‘the perfect woman’? With maps, charts, and other illustrations, this story of magic and illusion—pieced together like a great stage tragedy—challenges the reader to unravel the mystery before the final curtain falls. This quintessential Japanese “logic mystery”—eerie, gory, and intriguing—combines the puzzle-solving of Golden Age Western detective fiction with elements of shocking horror and dark humor.
Publisher: Pushkin Vertigo
ISBN: 1782271422
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 321
Book Description
One of The Guardian’s “Top 10 Locked Room Mysteries” An amateur detective races to solve a decades-old murder mystery in this “bloody and bizarre” Japanese crime novel with a twist hailed as “one of the most original” (Daily Mail). Astrologer, fortune teller, and self-styled detective Kiyoshi Mitarai must solve a macabre murder mystery that has baffled Japan for 40 years—in just one week. With the help of his freelance illustrator friend, Kiyoshi sets out to answer the questions that have haunted the country ever since: Who murdered the artist Umezawa, raped and killed his daughter, and then chopped up the bodies of six others to create Azoth, ‘the perfect woman’? With maps, charts, and other illustrations, this story of magic and illusion—pieced together like a great stage tragedy—challenges the reader to unravel the mystery before the final curtain falls. This quintessential Japanese “logic mystery”—eerie, gory, and intriguing—combines the puzzle-solving of Golden Age Western detective fiction with elements of shocking horror and dark humor.