Why I would rather work for the yakuza than National Geographic Television - Jake Ade

[Mulboyne]

It gets worse....
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-03-18/japanese-yakuza-aid-earthquake-relief-efforts#

Golly, it is sure nice for those hard scrabble, down on their luck extortionists to reach deep down in their pockets filled with other's peoples hard earned money and give something back...

That is unforgivable.

[Catoneinutica]

[FG Lurker]

I have met a number of yakuza during my time in Japan, especially in the past 5 years or so. They've ranged from quite low level guys up to heads of some sub groups. (I don't think I have met anyone higher than that but it can be hard to tell.)

The yakuza are not one-dimensional evil-doers, and I think Jake is doing a good job of showing that.

[Catoneinutica]

I have met a number of yakuza during my time in Japan, especially in the past 5 years or so. They've ranged from quite low level guys up to heads of some sub groups. (I don't think I have met anyone higher than that but it can be hard to tell.)

The yakuza are not one-dimensional evil-doers, and I think Jake is doing a good job of showing that.

Better put than I could've. I'm revising Jake's Eccentric Gaijin Score back to 4.

-catone

-Three is baseline for any FG (sorry guys, we all have to be a little, uh, unconventional to want to live permanently in Japan).

-Four is 3 plus a twist of committed unconventialism, like Jake and Pico Iyer.

-Five is reserved for often-cringe-inducing, but still interesting, fixtures like Debito and Gregory Clark.

-Six applies to hopeless fuckups - lost souls, really - like Eamonn Fingleton, Amy Chavez, and Dave Spector.

[FG Lurker]

Yakuza and gaijin are similar in that both exist at the very edges of Japanese society and will never be accepted into the mainstream. Mainstream society tends to look at both groups with a certain degree of suspicion/distrust, a measure of fear, and a helping of curiosity.

[cstaylor]

[quote="Slate's Farhad Manjoo"]blah blah tl]
Farhad Manjoo is the 21st Century's Dvorak. He's consistently wrong about everything in the tech industry.

The trouble with debit and credit cards is it lets the bank cut you off from your money in a crisis (Mizuho anyone?).

[Mike Oxlong]

Jake expands his ideas...

[Mulboyne]

Jake has popped up a few times now talking about the contribution of the yakuza. I think he's badly misjudged this one.

Like Catone, I've got time for the writing he's produced on organized crime in Japan. However, it's one thing to want to "own" the topic, it's another to try to view everything happening in Japan through that perspective. When we are talking about a national tragedy on the current scale, it starts looking ugly.

I personally hope that the national mood extends to pushing the yakuza to the margins and trying to wipe them out. Japan cannot afford to see criminal gangs siphoning off money from the billions of dollars needed to rebuild homes and key infrastructure. It will be a tragedy if they are allowed to continue with their shakedowns as businesses try to get back on their feet, or extend their loan sharking operations to people now in desperate need.

I don't think that cause is helped in any way by a foreign journalist telling the world what a wonderful job they are doing. It supports the myth of the "honourable yakuza" when these people will have no qualms about exploiting the chaos for their own gain even now. If the Hanshin earthquake is any guide, gangs will be happy to dump a few of their own inconvenient bodies into the mounting totals of dead and take advantage of the numbers of missing to set up scores of new fake IDs and money laundering bank accounts. You can bet some yakuza foot soldiers are keeping themselves busy grabbing up commodities in short supply even as the government tries to calm the public urge to panic-buy.

[cstaylor]

Maybe he mislabeled his article? "I'm working for the Yakuza instead of National Geographic Television" might be a better title.

[Greji]

".....I don't think that cause is helped in any way by a foreign journalist telling the world what a wonderful job they are doing. It supports the myth of the "honourable yakuza" when these people will have no qualms about exploiting the chaos for their own gain even now....."

They got a lot of the same type of publicy from the Japanese media during the Kansai/Kobe quake and while true they did provide some logistical support, the long term effect remains the same. Once a Chinpira, always a Chipira.....

[2triky]

Once a Chinpira, always a Chipira.....

:say_yes:


Ninkyodo is fiction. Just like members of the La Cosa Nostra are not "men of honor."

[Mulboyne]

[Doctor Stop]

So I'm willing to cut Jake a bit of slack, but I'm beginning to lose confidence in his judgment. He just moved from "4" to "5" on my Eccentric Gaijin scale ("7" being a 360-degree-head-turning-radiation-spewing Benjamin Fulford).

Where's Debito on that scale?

Ninkyodo is fiction. Just like members of the La Cosa Nostra are not "men of honor."

Youse gotta problem widdat?

[Greji]

Youse gotta problem widdat?

Hey, maybe he's got this problem. Doc, youse want I should send some of the fellas over to check on his kneecaps?

[Samurai_Jerk]

It's not unusual for criminal organizations to do good for community as a kind of PR or to keep the police off their backs. And I'm sure there are gangsters that really do care about what's happening. Even the worst criminals love children, dogs and their mothers and seeing regular people suffer can affect them. I think it's OK for a journalist to cover their efforts and it can even be used to effectively shame other legitimate organizations that should be taking care of things and aren't because of red tape or lack of preparation. However, I think Jake seems to be moving more and more into the realm of romanticizing his subject to a level that makes what he writes far less interesting and makes me a lot more suspicious.

[Greji]

However, I think Jake seems to be moving more and more into the realm of romanticizing his subject to a level that makes what he writes far less interesting and makes me a lot more suspicious.

You're right SJ and as I recall, the yaks had some problems with some of his previous writings, so he could also be trying to relieve some of the pressure ???:confused:

[Doctor Stop]

Doc, youse want I should send some of the fellas over to check on his kneecaps?

May he rest, in pieces.

[Mulboyne]

However, I think Jake seems to be moving more and more into the realm of romanticizing his subject to a level that makes what he writes far less interesting and makes me a lot more suspicious.

Here's a tweet from Jake last week:

Got back to Tokyo, handed over 2 suitcases of supplies for the victims via yakuza express.

There were dozens of legitimate aid organizations mobilizing resources by the time he arrived in Tokyo and yet he advertised the fact he preferred to use gangsters.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Here's a tweet from Jake last week:

There were dozens of legitimate aid organizations mobilizing resources by the time he arrived in Tokyo and yet he advertised the fact he preferred to use gangsters.

Truly bizarre. He's either totally flipped his lid or, like Greji suggested, is trying to get them off his back.

[cstaylor]

Truly bizarre. He's either totally flipped his lid or, like Greji suggested, is trying to get them off his back.

I think he's playing it up for the foreign press, not for local consumption. Think back to his bizarre appearance on "The Daily Show". Yakuza this, Yakuza that...

[JAVGOD]

They're always on somebody's back, (yaks).

So what is overall consensus about Adelstein?
I've read his books and articles over the years...Lately its too much, "look at me, look at me" stuff.

I didnt think his Jewishness is worth anything anymore....is that an incorrect assumption?

Is there much of a distinction here between Korean, Chinese and Japanese yakuza? Or are they all lumped in?

Just curious.

I already work with one and would never work with the other...would be a step down. "Fo Sho" Yakuza vs NGC

[Rube]

Guy sounds pretty pathetic to me but he's obviously selling to people who don't live in Japan and don't know what's what.