Taking a Gamble on Japan: An Interview with Robert Whiting

Tuttle Publishing — November 8, 2024

One of our most exciting releases this year has been Robert Whiting’s Gamblers, Fraudsters, Dreamers & Spies. It’s a rare insider’s look at modern Japan through the eyes of foreigners who took a gamble on creating a life there, no matter the cost. Here’s our recent conversation with Robert.

Congratulations on the success of Gamblers, Fraudsters, Dreamers & Spies! Can you tell us a little bit about your background and how the book came to be?

I have lived in Japan for 40 of the past 60 years. I first went to Japan in the early 60’s with the USAF. Stayed and went to Sophia University and then worked for Encyclopedia Britannica editorial. Then I wrote a book called The Chrysanthemum and the Bat about the respective cultures of the U.S. and Japan through the lens of baseball — the national sport of both countries. Back then there was a nationwide telecast of Tokyo Giants games every night. Baseball was the only thing I could actually understand on TV, which helped me learn the language.

I did a follow-up baseball book in 1989 called You Gotta Have Wa which became a best seller. The shady proprietor of an Italian restaurant in Tokyo I patronized approached me after having read Wa and told me his colorful life story about arriving in Japan after the war and getting involved on the black market with Japanese gangs. After extensive research, that story turned into Tokyo Underworld, which was a huge best seller in Japanese, hitting #1 on many Tokyo lists and optioned five times by Hollywood.

I began working on a sequel about similar underworld characters I ran into along the way. I initially called it Tokyo Outsiders, but the title eventually became Gamblers, Fraudsters, Dreamers & Spies.

Give us a sense of what drew you to these colorful people and stories, and how you were able to obtain such detailed information about things that are usually hidden from plain sight. Is there a unifying theme or idea that you are seeking out?

Yes! Crime unifies people across cultures. It brings people of diverse backgrounds and languages together in the pursuit of profit. People like to talk about themselves and brag about their misdeeds, I discovered, if you approach them in the right way. Verifying all their tales took a lot of time, with countless visits to the library, the police, newspaper morgues — just constantly digging up characters from the past. Doable — but time consuming!

Are there any particular characters or stories that struck a deeper chord for you in the process of researching and writing about them? Do you have any favorites?

One of my favorites is MK Taxi founder Sadao Aoki. He was an ethnic Korean who overcame discrimination to found a truly great Taxi company. He’s the only person in the history of Japan to sue the Japanese government (over a taxi monopoly that fixed prices) and win. Another one is Carlos Ghosn — the arrested Nissan CEO who escaped from Japan in a music box.

How do you think your book will help western readers understand modern Japanese history?

Simply put, Japanese history can be very colorful and easy to read about and understand when presented through the prism of crime.

Thanks for your thoughtful answers, Robert! Where can people find you and your writing online?

People can find me on Substack at Robert Whiting’s Japan, and on my website, Tokyo Junkie. I'm also active on X/Twitter and Facebook.