Jake Adelstein

Investigative Journalist and author Jake Adelstein shares insights about his experiences with both the Yakuza and the police while reporting on crime in Japan for the last nineteen years, including the Yakuza’s seven lessons for life.

1. Know the difference between hearing and listening, and learn to listen to people.
2. Repay the kindness bestowed upon you, keep your code, all is good.
3. There are no small promises. A man’s promise should weigh more than his life.
4. It’s okay to be betrayed, just don’t be the betrayer. Betray others and you betray yourself. You won’t be able to trust anyone.
5. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. You can tell more about a man by his enemies than you can by his friends. A man with no enemies is worthless.
6. In life we only encounter the injustices we are meant to correct.
7. If you want to live well you have to die once.