Jake Adelstein/中本哲史

調査報道記者・Tokyo Vice (原作の著者) Investigative journalist, Zen Buddhist Priest, Paladin, Social Justice 🥷 Ninja, Author of #TokyoVice #TokyoNoir 禅僧 @thedailybeast

[Jake Adelstein/中本哲史 @jakeadelstein]

Well, #TokyoVice was published in 2009. It took me another 11 years to write the sequel which was #TokyoNoir.
This year in February, my nemesis, the role model for Tozawa, died. Read the book. You'll know why I'm not sad.
Thanks to @LeeofLeeLand for a concise and kind review.

[Lee’s Reviews @LeeofLeeLand]

Tokyo Noir by @jakeadelstein
5/5⭐️
A smooth page turning and enlightening read only a man who worked decades in journalism could deliver on the workings of Yakuza, Nuclear Power, The Olympics, Journalism, and having Cancer all in Japan.
James Patterson couldn’t dream this up.

[Edo Forsythe @Prof_Edo]

Excellent interview with @jakeadelstein about his books #Tokyovice and #DevilTakesCrypto https://t.co/r6SXyWKgW8 Worth the listen for some insight into Jake’s very interesting life!

[Jake Adelstein/中本哲史 @jakeadelstein]

The celebrity gossip is the bread-and-butter, the money for those investigative political stories are paid for by those gossipy pieces.
However, the Japanese government is adept at burying political scandal by creating diversionary news.
When the prosecutors decided not to indict TEPCO executives for the terrible nuclear accident, they leaked it on the same day Japan won the Olympics bid.

[Jake Adelstein/中本哲史 @jakeadelstein]

“𝑪𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝑱𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒏” 𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅. 𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 “𝑪𝒓𝒖𝒆𝒍 𝑱𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒏”

The new barista at Cafe Japan has rolled up the welcome to tatami mat and put a “Japanese only” sign on the door. We all knew it was coming, but some of us hoped to reserve a seat before the management changed.
The details are in the chart. The fine print doesn’t tell you how devastating it really is. By the way, if there’s a mistake in the chart, let me know.

If it seems like the rules will make it almost impossible for almost anyone non-Japanese (who is not wealthy) to make a permanent residence in Japan that’s because they are. You’re also asked to invest years of your life and mastering the Japanese language without any guarantee that you will benefit from it. Some are saying it’s racist, but it’s more of a class warfare kind of thing

Of course, there has always been simmering xenophobia in Japan, much of it directed at the Korean-Japanese population, something that Shinzo Abe, as prime minister, capitalized on.
But two or three years ago, if you had asked most people in opinion polls whether they were favorable toward welcoming foreigners into Japanese society, the majority would have said yes.

Now we have the legacy of Abenomics, which made for a weak yen, and the promotion of tourism, which bred an influx of foreign tourists—some of them not respecting local customs and flaunting the money they have, which is worth much more against the weakened yen. And Japanese people in general don’t necessarily distinguish between permanent foreign residents and tourists.

On top of all that, a far-right party called Sanseitō (参政党) realized that blaming the last 30 years of political and economic mismanagement on the roughly 3% of the population who are not Japanese was a surefire winner. Learning from Donald Trump, they launched their famous “Japanese First” (日本人ファースト) campaign.
The media was quick to fan the flames of xenophobia because it made for good ratings, and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan—which is neither particularly liberal nor particularly democratic—realized that it would be easier to distract the public by beating down on foreigners: those foreigners supposedly kicking the deer in Nara Park, as Sanae Takaichi famously claimed during her campaign to become prime minister.

Rather than accepting responsibility for political errors or actually doing anything to improve the country, the ruling party—which, in my view, is effectively controlled by Taro Aso, the 80-year-old powerbroker and the real master of Ms. Takaichi—is only thinking about the next election.
For thousands of people who hoped to make Japan their home, the coffee being served now has a bitter aftertaste. And it takes at lease ten years to cold brew a very expensive cup of it.

“Cool Japan” is dead. Welcome to “Cruel Japan.” If you already have a seat at the table, try and show a little compassion for those who didn't make it in before the doors closed. It's cold out there.

[Jake Adelstein/中本哲史 @jakeadelstein]

Takaichi’s puppet master is 86 and steered massive amounts of political funds to the company of his mistress.

[週刊文春 @shukan_bunshun]

【昨日の話題記事】
第2位：《令和の元老》麻生太郎（86）が愛人会社に政治資金8000万円を垂れ流していた！

記事はこちら↓
https://t.co/18dB0DxMNq
#週刊文春

[週刊文春 @shukan_bunshun]

【昨日の話題記事】
第2位：《令和の元老》麻生太郎（86）が愛人会社に政治資金8000万円を垂れ流していた！

記事はこちら↓
https://t.co/18dB0DxMNq
#週刊文春

[Jeffrey J. Hall 🇯🇵🇺🇸 @mrjeffu]

If you're terminally online, you may get the impression that Kawaguchi city is experiencing a huge amount of foreign crime.
As Yamahana Ikuo points out in this video, since 2004 Kawaguchi's foreign population has tripled, but crime has declined greatly.

[Seth Abramson @SethAbramson]

This is unreadable. He’s incoherent. I don’t think he successfully stated a single fact, answered a single question, or provided a single example of any point he wanted to make. Not that it was clear what points he wanted to make—because he was incoherent. https://t.co/XkLeMjsN8x

[日刊ゲンダイDIGITAL @nikkan_gendai]

【政治】「心配には及ばない」で国民は納得する？ ツッコミどころ満載の高市首相の所信表明に漂う「トラスト・ミー」の危うさ https://t.co/hg7MG5uf79 #日刊ゲンダイDIGITAL

[The Mainichi (Japan Daily News) @themainichi]

80% of Japanese support preserving handwriting: survey https://t.co/nSpNFAaFIG

[Jeffrey J. Hall 🇯🇵🇺🇸 @mrjeffu]

Japan has not claimed that its new higher visa fees are meant to "deter immigration."
It might make Japan less competitive as a place for skilled workers because salaries are already relatively low and the fees are relatively high (but aren't paid until visa acceptance).

[日刊ゲンダイDIGITAL @nikkan_gendai]

高市首相×トランプ大統領の“写真捏造”疑惑に佐伯耕三内閣広報官が《どう感じるか、見たい世界は人それぞれです》などと嫌みっぽく反論。再び大炎上する事態に。また大炎上！ 繰り返される異常投稿に「まさか故意にでは？」という噂も……。 https://t.co/4w5S1Xs3fA #日刊ゲンダイDIGITAL

[Norm Eisen @NormEisen]

BREAKING: Davey Hearn reflecting pool prosecution dismissed WITH PREJUDICE

That means the case cannot be brought again 

Huge victory for Davey, for us at @DDFund_ & our legal team colleagues Washington Litigation Group and Steptoe--& for rule of law

More to follow!

[Aaron Rupar @atrupar]

I recommend people read Time's interview with Trump to get a sense of the president's grave cognitive impairment. Trump is either unwilling or unable (or maybe both) to answer the questions he's actually asked, so he just rants and raves while the interviewers do their best to provide structure to his random brain firings. https://t.co/wUBAQYBGjd

[Tara Bella @Tarasworld21]

TIME Magazine has released the full, unedited transcript of its interview with Trump alongside its cover story I put in the comments. I had to take several breaks to get through it, it's bad, really bad, because it's our President. If you've ever visited a loved one in a Memory Care facility you'd know the residents can give hours long dissertations without saying anything of substance, long strings of filterless free association that could lead anywhere. While Trump has always been a narcissist and a con man, he was also an effective communicator, you can't pull a successful con without that skill. What we see in this interview seems to be truly disturbing and we need to face it together as a nation and do something about it. Please take the time to read.
https://t.co/bQqjnpk9nB

[藤井セイラ @cobta]

高市政権では「外国人」の「問題化」がハイスピードで進みます。不満の矛先をそらすためです。永住許可の独立生計要件は単身で年収約300万円→約450万円へ。一見、日本が「切り捨てる」ように見えてスカッとするのかもしれませんが、日本が働く外国人から「見捨てられる」結果になる可能性もあります。

[Jake Adelstein/中本哲史 @jakeadelstein]

@themainichi Confirming xenophobic policy.

[The Mainichi (Japan Daily News) @themainichi]

Japan's harsher permanent residency rules, hiked visa fees begin, sparking xenophobia worries https://t.co/oM1hm4hMnP

[Jake Adelstein/中本哲史 @jakeadelstein]

@Dizzydennis It took courage to write it and you pointed out the absurdity and cruelty of the new system. Thank you

https://t.co/irECISyG8z

[Richard @gaijinthoughts]

In Japan, you now risk having your permanent residency revoked if you forget to carry your residence card. Insanity.

[Jake Adelstein/中本哲史 @jakeadelstein]

@FacelessOne07 I don’t know much about him, but you’re probably right