Tokyo Underworld: A Look Inside Yakuza Culture March 5, 2012

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CORRECTION: This event took place at Japan Society, not the Asia Society.

Complete video at http://fora.tv/2012/02/16/Tokyo_Underworld_2012_An_Evening_with_Robert_Whiting

Robert Whiting, author of "Tokyo Underworld: The Fast Times and Hard Life of an American Gangster in Japan", discusses the Japanese organized crime culture known as "yakuza". He explains that yakuza try to distance themselves from the mafia by highlighting their strict code of conduct and their contributions to the public good.

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Robert Whiting has written a number of books on Japan, including "You Gotta Have Wa", "The Meaning of Ichiro" and "Tokyo Underworld", which is being developed as a series for HBO. In this lecture, Whiting addresses the intractable role of yakuza in virtually all areas of modern day society in Japan. He discusses the sequel to "Tokyo Underworld" that he is writing, shares insights into the genesis of the HBO project and talks about the recent National Geographic documentary "Crime Lords of Tokyo", in which he appeared.

Robert Whiting is an author and journalist who has written several successful books on contemporary Japanese culture - which include topics such as baseball and American gangsters operating in Japan. He was born in New Jersey, grew up in California and graduated from Sophia University in Tokyo. He has lived in Japan for a total of more than three decades since he first arrived there in the early 1960s. He currently divides his time between homes in Tokyo and California.