Known for their striking full-body tattoos and severed fingertips, Japan's gangsters comprise a criminal class eighty thousand strong - more than four times the size of the American mafia. Despite their criminal nature, the yakuza are accepted by fellow Japanese to a degree guaranteed to shock most Westerners. "Yakuza" is the first book to reveal the extraordinary reach of Japan's Mafia. Originally published in 1986, it was so controversial in Japan that it could not be published there for five years. But in the west it has long served as the standard reference on Japanese organized crime and has inspired novels, screenplays, and criminal investigations. This twenty-fifth anniversary edition tells the full story of Japan's remarkable crime syndicates, from their feudal start as bands of medieval outlaws to their emergence as billion-dollar investors in real estate, big business, art, and more.

Shocking and newsworthy revelations from one of the most knowledgeable authorities on Pacific Rim affairs, David E. Kaplan, author of Yakuza. This groundbreaking work dramatically details the often violent dispute between China and Taiwan over the fate of the 20 million Chinese scattered overseas and reveals the key role the U.S. plays in this conflict. 8-page insert.