The Last Yakuza

Life and Death in the Japanese Underworld

By: Jake Adelstein

Narrated by: Brian Nishii

The Last Yakuza tells the history of the yakuza like it’s never been told before.

Makoto Saigo is half-American and half-Japanese in small-town Japan with a set of talents limited to playing guitar and picking fights. With rock stardom off the table, he turns toward the only place where you can start from the bottom and move up through sheer merit, loyalty, and brute force―the yakuza.

Saigo, nicknamed “The Tsunami”, quickly realizes that even within the organization, opinions are as varied as they come, and a clash of philosophies can quickly become deadly. One screw-up can cost you your life, or at least a finger.

The internal politics of the yakuza are dizzyingly complex, and between the ever-shifting web of alliances and the encroaching hand of the law that pushes them further and further underground, Saigo finds himself in the middle of a defining decades-long battle that will determine the future of the yakuza.

Written with the insight of an expert on Japanese organized crime and the compassion of a longtime friend, investigative journalist Jake Adelstein presents a sprawling biography of a yakuza, through post-war desperation, to bubble-era optimism, to the present. Including a cast of memorable yakuza bosses―The Coach, The Buddha, and more―this is a story about the rise and fall of a man, a country, and a dishonest but sometimes honorable way of life on the brink of being lost.

©2023 Jake Adelstein (P)2023 Audible, Inc.

Learned a lot about Japan

Adelstein is a fine writer and storyteller with a sharp ear and a keen eye. His books go a long way towards explaining modern Japan.

Great book, great narrator.

A non-fiction account of Japan's underworld, as fascinating and brilliantly written as Tokyo Vice. Both as a sequel to his earlier work and as a stand-alone book, this is an Adelstein masterpiece you must read.

Darkly fascinating

“The only thing worse than organized crime was disorganized crime.”
The summary promised a dizzying look into the Yakuzza and that was definitely true. There were a lot of people, factions, and life philosophies spread out over decades and even centuries. It was interesting … to a point. It was a little odd to hear the dry, matter of fact narration as we’re told about people being violently beaten or coerced. I was also never much sold on the protagonist Saigo, and I’m not sure if that’s because, as the author stated, his character was a combination of different real-life people, or if it was because I wasn’t meant to root for him or his organization.

“He was just the hammer of karma.”
I was most fascinated by the descriptions of prison life, as well as of the Yakuzza’s decline, which seemed to have been accomplished in large part due to white collar crime laws against fraud or transacting business with known criminals rather than prosecuting members for violent criminal acts.
All told, an excellent and fair deep dive into Japan’s criminal underworld.

Basically, Yakuza Goodfellas

Fun, engaging listen. Great performance, flew right by, didn’t want it to end. Highly recommend.

window into a riveting world

very informative narrative, well written. Brian Nishi is an immensely talented story teller and reader.