Jake Adelstein's Blog, page 89
December 31, 2010
Happy New Year From All Of US At JSRC To You
It's almost 2011 everywhere in the world. It's the first day of the new year where I am now. 2010 was a long, hard year. It ended well. Our humble site was listed on CNN-Go as one of Japan's best English language blogs of 2010 | CNNGo.com #1. It was an honor. This year we'll be expanding the number of contributors and the scope of the website, for all those who are curious about the magical kingdom of Japan. We'll be probing around all dark, shady, shadowy and overcast areas of the land of the rising sun. The sunny side we'll leave to other people.
Some good things happened this year. The police crackdown on organized crime was so intense that it almost made our April Fools parody post (April 1st, 2010) look like a prophecy. Maybe it was.
A new year is a great thing. It gives us a feeling that we might be able to start over and get things right. But then again every day should be like that. I'll paraphrase the Dalai Lama here: "Every day we are reborn. Every day we are reincarnated. It is this day that is the most important day in our lives. It is our chance to do good, to refrain from evil, to purify our hearts." A lofty sentiment but I like it.
So Happy Birthday and Happy New Year! May it be a good one for us all. May we all get what we deserve, and maybe some nice things we don't really deserve, and may the rules of karma apply in the best possible ways. Cheers!
Happy New Year Japan! Don't bite off more than you can chew–it could be fatal. A Special Holiday Public Service Announcement
It's that time of the year again, where Family Mart employees don their Santa suits, KFC production goes into high gear, eager bargain hunters start planning their January 2 sale strategy, and families across the country worry about having to launch their fingers down a loved one's throat to dislodge unfortunate New Years mochi.
Yes, those sticky race cake treats essential to every Japanese holiday celebration are, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, one of the biggest dangers to the young and elderly over New Years. In the four years leading up to 2010, the Tokyo Prefecture Fire Department reported that, out of 4,719 choking incidents, 606 occurred in January, when mochi is most often consumed. Also, a 2006 MHLW survey of fire departments and emergency centers found that over 20 percent of the 803 calls received about choking incidents involved mochi–figures they estimate represent a mere 22 percent of the total population.
But how to remove sticky mochi that's lodged in grandpa's throat when a good whack on the back has failed? By vacuum cleaner, of course.
Although not officially recommended by any emergency services, the vacuum cleaner rose to popularity after a series of New Years incidents where the elderly were saved by quick-thinking relatives willing to jam a hose down their throat. A popular emergency suction nozzle especially for mochi rescues exists that can easily be attached to any commercially available vacuum cleaner, though the thin, narrow nozzle that comes with most machines will reportedly work in a pinch.
As an aside, the Heimlick Maneuver isn't often mentioned in advice for the lay-person, and "Heimlick Maneuver choking" brings up a mere 1,320 results on Google Japan compared to the 51,300 for "vacuum cleaner choking".
Of course, some people do survive without a vacuum cleaner or CPR. Luck helps.
One ex-yakuza boss recalled his near-death experience with mochi. "I've almost been killed several times in my life, but the closest I ever got to dying was when I was 16 and almost choked to death on a mochi right before hatsumode. I crammed a whole one into my mouth and then wasn't able to swallow it or spit it out. I couldn't breathe and then I passed out, still poking at the mochi with my fingers in my mouth—I woke up to find that I'd puked it out. The luckiest day of my life. That stuff isn't fit for human beings. Deadly shit."
Still, if you don't have luck, it pays to suck. Keiko Musashi, 34, a physical therapist in Tokyo, tells how here grandmother was saved fifteen years ago."Obaasan had bad teeth and she loved mochi. On the third day after New Year's, she ate one too many ozoni and started choking. We could see the edge of the mochi in her throat. We pulled the end and only a bit came out. She was turning blue and then my Mom remembered seeing a public service announcement (PSA) on television about what to do. So she grabbed the vacuum cleaner hose, turned it on and stuffed it in to Grandma's throat and jiggled it around until she sucked up the mochi. Mission accomplished."
To this day, Ms. Musashi and her mother refuse to buy a cyclone-type vacuum. "If it doesn't have a hose, it's not good."
So if you do insist on eating those foul Japanese delights this New Year's day and before or after your first visit to the local shrine—at least you make sure you have an old-fashioned vacuum cleaner (掃除機) nearby. Even if no one chokes to death, it'll be handy in starting the New Year with a clean house.
Happy New Year Japan! Don't bite off more than you can chew–it could be fatal. A Special Holiday PSA Announcement
It's that time of the year again, where Family Mart employees don their Santa suits, KFC production goes into high gear, eager bargain hunters start planning their January 2 sale strategy, and families across the country worry about having to launch their fingers down a loved one's throat to dislodge unfortunate New Years mochi.
Yes, those sticky race cake treats essential to every Japanese holiday celebration are, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, one of the biggest dangers to the young and elderly over New Years. In the four years leading up to 2010, the Tokyo Prefecture Fire Department reported that, out of 4,719 choking incidents, 606 occurred in January, when mochi is most often consumed. Also, a 2006 MHLW survey of fire departments and emergency centers found that over 20 percent of the 803 calls received about choking incidents involved mochi–figures they estimate represent a mere 22 percent of the total population.
But how to remove sticky mochi that's lodged in grandpa's throat when a good whack on the back has failed? By vacuum cleaner, of course.
Although not officially recommended by any emergency services, the vacuum cleaner rose to popularity after a series of New Years incidents where the elderly were saved by quick-thinking relatives willing to jam a hose down their throat. A popular emergency suction nozzle especially for mochi rescues exists that can easily be attached to any commercially available vacuum cleaner, though the thin, narrow nozzle that comes with most machines will reportedly work in a pinch.
As an aside, the Heimlick Maneuver isn't often mentioned in advice for the lay-person, and "Heimlick Maneuver choking" brings up a mere 1,320 results on Google Japan compared to the 51,300 for "vacuum cleaner choking".
Of course, some people do survive without a vacuum cleaner or CPR. Luck helps.
One ex-yakuza boss recalled his near-death experience with mochi. "I've almost been killed several times in my life, but the closest I ever got to dying was when I was 16 and almost choked to death on a mochi on January 1st. I crammed a whole one into my mouth and then wasn't able to swallow it or spit it out. I couldn't breathe and fainted—woke up to find that I'd puked it out. The luckiest day of my life. That stuff isn't fit for human beings. Deadly stuff."
Still, if you don't have luck, it pays to suck. Keiko Musashi, 34, a physical therapist in Tokyo, tells how here grandmother was saved fifteen years ago."Obaasan had bad teeth and she loved mochi. One day she ate one too many and started choking. We could see the edge of the mocha in her throat but we pulled the end and only a bit came out. She was turning blue and then my Mom remembered seeing a PSA on television about what to do. So she grabbed the vacuum cleaner hose, ,turned it on and stuffed it in to Grandma's throat and jiggled it around until she sucked up the mochi. Mission accomplished."
To this day, Ms. Musashi and her mother refuse to buy a cyclone-type vacuum. "If it doesn't have a hose, it's not good."
So if you do insist on eating those foul Japanese delights this New Year's day and before or after your first visit to the local shrine—at least you make sure you have an old-fashioned vacuum cleaner (掃除機) nearby. Even if no one chokes to death, it'll be handy in starting the New Year with a clean house.
Happy New Year! Try Not To Die While Celebrating In Japan. A PSA Announcement To Chew Over
It's that time of the year again, where Family Mart employees don their Santa suits, KFC production goes into high gear, eager bargain hunters start planning their January 2 sale strategy, and families across the country worry about having to launch their fingers down a loved one's throat to dislodge unfortunate New Years mochi.
Yes, those sticky race cake treats essential to every Japanese holiday celebration are, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, one of the biggest dangers to the young and elderly over New Years. In the four years leading up to 2010, the Tokyo Prefecture Fire Department reported that, out of 4,719 choking incidents, 606 occurred in January, when mochi is most often consumed. Also, a 2006 MHLW survey of fire departments and emergency centers found that over 20 percent of the 803 calls received about choking incidents involved mochi–figures they estimate represent a mere 22 percent of the total population.
But how to remove sticky mochi that's lodged in grandpa's throat when a good whack on the back has failed? By vacuum cleaner, of course.
Although not officially recommended by any emergency services, the vacuum cleaner rose to popularity after a series of New Years incidents where the elderly were saved by quick-thinking relatives willing to jam a hose down their throat. A popular emergency suction nozzle especially for mochi rescues exists that can easily be attached to any commercially available vacuum cleaner, though the thin, narrow nozzle that comes with most machines will reportedly work in a pinch.
As an aside, the Heimlick Maneuver isn't often mentioned in advice for the lay-person, and "Heimlick Maneuver choking" brings up a mere 1,320 results on Google Japan compared to the 51,300 for "vacuum cleaner choking".
Of course, some people do survive without a vacuum cleaner or CPR. Luck helps.
One ex-yakuza boss recalled his near-death experience with mochi. "I've almost been killed several times in my life, but the closest I ever got to dying was when I was 16 and almost choked to death on a mochi on January 1st. I crammed a whole one into my mouth and then wasn't able to swallow it or spit it out. I couldn't breathe and fainted—woke up to find that I'd puked it out. The luckiest day of my life. That stuff isn't fit for human beings. Deadly stuff."
Still, if you don't have luck, it pays to suck. Keiko Musashi, 34, a physical therapist in Tokyo, tells how here grandmother was saved fifteen years ago."Obaasan had bad teeth and she loved mochi. One day she ate one too many and started choking. We could see the edge of the mocha in her throat but we pulled the end and only a bit came out. She was turning blue and then my Mom remembered seeing a PSA on television about what to do. So she grabbed the vacuum cleaner hose, ,turned it on and stuffed it in to Grandma's throat and jiggled it around until she sucked up the mochi. Mission accomplished."
To this day, Ms. Musashi and her mother refuse to buy a cyclone-type vacuum. "If it doesn't have a hose, it's not good."
So if you do insist on eating those foul Japanese delights this New Year's day—at least you make sure you have an old-fashioned vacuum cleaner (掃除機) nearby. Even if no one chokes to death, it'll be handy in starting the New Year with a clean house.
December 24, 2010
Top 10 Christmas gifts for the yakuza in your life
Christmas is almost here, but there's still time to pick up a little something special for that gang member on your list. Here's JSRC's choices for ten top gifts for the yakuza:
Personal sauna: He's been booted out of more onsen and sento than he can count; now those stodgy old cooters can keep their community baths while he gets a little R&R in his own personal sauna.
Playstation 3 + Yakuza series: These highly acclaimed, real-to-life games are great for those off days when he just can't be bothered to head out and bust up some wayward chinpira. Make sure to get the Japanese version–the foreign ones have all the good stuff taken out.
Tattoo makeup: Parent-teacher conferences; a quick dip in the pleb's foot bath. Sometimes it's just necessary to blend in with polite society.
Investing In Japan: Now that he's gone to the trouble of setting up front companies overseas in Singapore and Hong Kong, help him learn to exploit the Japanese markets from the outside in!
How to Win Friends and Influence People: If Takayama Kiyoshi, the number two of the Kodo-kai, had read this book, he wouldn't be in jail now. For example, Dale Carnegie has some sage advice that crosses all cultural boundaries: "Don't threaten the police officers that might be able to arrest you."
Mini binoculars: Now that the coppers have cracked down on gang members at sumo and other sporting events, he's going to have to blend in to catch that must-see match. No more front-row seats won't be a problem with these babies!
AKB48 CD: Because he's too embarrassed to pick one up himself, but those tunes are so catchy!! (and the girls.., yowza!)
Adidas tracksuit: Conspicuous consumption is so pre-recession, and Run-DMC is universally cool. Skip the Armani, but personalise it for some added bling.
Four-finger golf gloves: Nothing is more embarrassing than making that picture-perfect drive, but feeling the empty pinky finger space flapping in the wind. One- and two-knuckle versions available!
Onna no Tatemae Honyaku Jiten (What they say and what they mean: Translate women's feelings): Because not even yakuza can claim to understand what the heck women are thinking.
Merry Christmas!
December 17, 2010
Investigation of real estate consultant murder by Goto-gumi member heats up. TMPD raids Rachi-gumi offices.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested a former member of the Yamaguchi-gumi Goto-gumi (Nobuyuki Yamamoto) for killing a real estate consultant, Kazuoki Nozaki, in a dispute over a building in Shibuya ward this month (December 2010). The murder took place in 2006. A Goto-gumi front company was laying claim to the building and Nozaki-san was an obstacle in their plans. He was stabbed to death on the streets of Minato-ward.
On December 17th, at 10:55 am the police raided the offices of Yamaguchi-gumi Rachi-gumi in Shizuoka Prefecture. There were brief skirmishes with Rachi-gumi members during the raids, including of course, the obligatory verbal abuse, and much rolling of rrrs and shouting from the assembled yakuza members.
Rachi, the leader of Rachi-gumi, was the number two in the now disbanded Goto-gumi, and the suspect Nobuyuki Yamamoto was also a member of Rachi-gumi. The police have issued an international arrest warrant for his accomplice who is believed to have fled Japan. Police sources and others media report that Yamamoto has begun to make statements in which he admits to the murder but remains silent on as to who ordered it or whether he did it "on his own initiative." The police may rexamine the "suicide" of film director Itami Juzo as a homicide based on the progress of the current investigation. Itami Juzo made a film in 1992, MINBO (The Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion) which depicted the yakuza in an unfavorable light, resulting in Goto-gumi members attacking him and slicing his face up after the film was released. Itami later committed suicide under suspicious circumstances.
Four of Itami's films are currently available on DVD in the United States. MINBO remains only available on VHS. It is sold in Japan on DVD with english subtitles.

This film which depicted the Yakuza unfavorably as extortionists and thugs, resulted in the director being attacked by Yamaguchi-gumi Goto members.
December 15, 2010
The not-so-jolly holiday season starts for the Yamaguchi-gumi
It looks like this will be a sombre month for Japan's biggest organised crime gang. Police announced December 11 that their yakuza crackdown efforts have, for the first time ever, forced the Yamaguchi-gumi to cancel their traditional end of the year meeting. With leader Kenichi Shinoda having been behind bars since 2005, and the recent arrests of Kiyoshi Takayama in November and Tadashi Irie earlier this month, the group reportedly found it difficult to hold their annual nokai, and were forced to call it off.
According to investigators, the group used to hold a koto hajime meeting on December 13 every year, gathering leaders from around the country in a highly traditional ceremony involving the passing of sake from the organisation's head. Since the arrest and conviction of Shinobu in 2005, the ceremony had been changed to a nokai (interestingly enough, the same term that's used for an event marking the final day of trading at stock exchanges).
Police believe this year's event was cancelled because the group ruled that their lack of leadership left no cause for celebration. Years past saw a New Years party held together with the nokai ceremony, but it's thought that the group will reign in this celebration as well. Authorities believe the remaining bosses will hold their regular monthly meeting to discuss the future structure of the organisation instead.
And as a final blow, it's believed that the Yamaguchi-gumi will this year close to the public their annual mochitsuki event. You may remember the mochi-making festivities from last year, when cash-money gifts to local kiddies had people flocking in droves to the gang's headquarters in Kobe.
Original article here.
December 12, 2010
2011 Revised adult entertainment laws: What changes?
On July 6 of this year, the Diet approved proposed revisions of Japanese law regarding "adult entertainment" establishments (風俗営業等の規制及び業務の適正化等に関する法律). The laws are periodically revised as police attempt to keep up with and keep control over the country's ever-expanding adult entertainment venues. Information on the changes is slightly difficult to come upon, but this site reportedly has the low-down on what will be different.
The upcoming revisions will hit two types of businesses that have been identified as problems in recent years: gisou love hotels and deai-kissa. Gisou love hotels are establishments registered as hotel or ryokan that are effectively operating as love hotels. They include small spaces that don't resemble love hotels but can be rented for short-term trysts much like this unfortunate punter did. This allows the gisou love hotel to dodge regulations that bind normal love hotels to certain districts, allowing them to set up shop near schools, residential neighborhoods and other areas. Easiest way to beat the competition is monopolise an area they can't touch, right?
Deai kissa have been covered in past articles here, and are essentially "cafes" where people can go to select a stranger (if you're a man) or wait to be selected by a stranger (if you're a woman) for an activity the couple agrees upon in small meeting rooms inside the cafe. While the pretense is to meet someone for karaoke or a date, the business claims no responsibility about what happens outside of their premises, and they're often used as vehicles for prostitution. They've most recently become an issue after a university student was murdered by a man she met at a cafe earlier this year.
While both gisou love hotels and deai kissa have trampled the grey line of adult entertainment laws, as of January 1, 2011, this will no longer be the case.
The revisions have redefined what a love hotel is in order to re-evaluate businesses and close many of the loop holes gisou love hotels have been taking advantage of. As of January 1, businesses that do one or more of the following may be classified as love hotels:
Are available for "rest" use
Have dining and lobby floor area that are less than legal standards set by capacity
Have an entryway or reception area that is hidden from the outside
Take payment through a machine or tube
Use signage to direct customers to rooms instead of staff guidance
Have installed a form of obstruction to prevent face-to-face interaction between customers and staff
The rules get complicated from there. For example, hotels that have signage to guide customers and obstructions so they may not come face-to-face with staff qualify as love hotels if payment for the room is made through a machine. If a hotel has very little restaurant or lobby space, displays "rest" prices, and has a reception that's difficult to see, they must have a rotating or vibrarting bed, a mirror in the room where people can observe themselves while lying down, "facilities that incite sexual curiosity" such as S&M goods or glass walls in the bathroom, and/or adult toys for sale in vending machines. Whew. Also, spaces which exist particularly to be rented at "rest" rates by members of the opposite sex fall under the love hotel article.
All new deai kissa will fall under the fuzoku laws. For existing cafes, any venue that facilitates a meeting by two members of the opposite sex who have never met for the purpose of having a sexual relationship will qualify, though it's a mystery how a business would prove it one way or the other. This will effectively put all new and many existing deai kissa under the same jurisdiction as "brick and mortar" adult entertainment businesses (店舗型性風俗特殊営業), which prevents them from being run within 200 meters of particular government facilities, including schools and child welfare centers.
Some say that, under these restrictions, there are almost no entertainment district in which new businesses will be able to set up.
As a requirement, businesses must submit up-to-date blueprints or measurements of the entire premises together with their application. Other information that must be submitted includes:
Method of doing business
Map of the surrounding area (at least 200m)
A diagram of the entryway and lobby
Certificate of residence if the owner is a private individual
In the case of a company, the above for all executives as well as company registration
Police say they will only accept applications until January 31, with all businesses neglecting to register before that presumably being slowly shut down. Ultimately, the authorities get to determine what qualifies and what does not under such complex stipulations. Whether this results in loads of shutdown or loads of bribery (or both) remains to be seen, but expect a large shift in the love hotel landscape over the upcoming year.
December 3, 2010
Yakuza bosses and soliders falling like dominos; cold cases heating up
Japanese police made their third big arrest in as many weeks today, snagging a 27-year-old ex-Goto-gumi member on possible murder charges. Nobuyuki Yamamoto is suspected of stabbing to death Kazuoki Nozaki, an executive from a real estate management company, in Minato Ward in March 2006. The company had reportedly run into trouble with the Goto-gumi involving a piece of Shibuya property where one of the gang's front companies was housed, and Nozaki has in charge of the court case. Police hope Yamamoto's arrest will lead to details of involvement other Goto-gumi members had in the incident. (Japanese report here)
This is the third high-profile arrest police have carried out in the past month. On November 18, Yamaguchi-gumi second in command Kiyoshi Takayama was picked up in Kobe on charges of extortion. At the beginning of this month, the Yamaguchi-gumi's number three bigwig Tadashi Irie was arrested in Osaka, under suspicion of having paid living expenses to the families of a Yamaguchi-gumi hitman. It's common for organized crime groups to take care of the families of members serving time for gang related activity. It was also made illegal in 2008 to do so. The arrest of Takayama and Irie have dealt a serious blow to the Yamaguchi-gumi. If Takayama was the guts of the organization, Irie was the brains behind it–the successor to Masaru Takumi, who is considered the father of the economic yakuza. Irie is considered the brightest and most financially savvy of the gang leadership and his arrest will impact severely on the group.
Yakuza Bosses And Soliders Falling Like Dominos; Cold Cases Heating Up
Japanese police made their third big arrest in as many weeks today, snagging a 27-year-old ex-Goto-gumi member on possible murder charges. Nobuyuki Yamamoto is suspected of stabbing to death Kazuoki Nozaki, an executive from a real estate management company, in Minato Ward in March 2006. The company had reportedly run into trouble with the Goto-gumi involving a piece of Shibuya property where one of the gang's front companies was housed, and Nozaki has in charge of the court case. Police hope Yamamoto's arrest will lead to details of involvement other Goto-gumi members had in the incident. (Japanese report here)
This is the third high-profile arrest police have carried out in the past month. On November 18, Yamaguchi-gumi second in command Kiyoshi Takayama was picked up in Kobe on charges of extortion. At the beginning of this month, the Yamaguchi-gumi's number three bigwig Tadashi Irie was arrested in Osaka, under suspicion of having paid living expenses to the families of a Yamaguchi-gumi hitman. It's common for organized crime groups to take care of the families of members serving time for gang related activity. It was also made illegal in 2008 to do so. The arrest of Takayama and Irie have dealt a serious blow to the Yamaguchi-gumi. If Takayama was the guts of the organization, Irie was the brains behind it–the successor to Masaru Takumi, who is considered the father of the economic yakuza. Irie is considered the brightest and most financially savvy of the gang leadership and his arrest will impact severely on the group.