The men are nervous, but they know that this is their only chance. They are given a few minutes to prepare and then they are told to leave. As they walk out of the restaurant, they see the other party walking in. They know that this is their only chance to escape.
The Yakuza has offered the foreigner a deal: If he drops his investigation into the dealings of Yakuza’s Tomazawa-san, the Yakuza will let him live. The foreigner mulls over the offer while smoking a cigarette.
Jake’s story is about his journey to get a job at Meicho Shimbun, which started in 1999 and ended in 2003. He was disappointed when he did not attempt the questions on the last page of the test, but he was offered an interview and was hired.
Jake is assigned to the police press as his first department. The format of reporting does not include space for adding reasons to why the crime happened to his annoyance. His sub-cap is Emi Muroyama, who strictly prohibits the newbies from veering off the set format. The first assignment for Jake is to report on the murder of Mr. Aoki. At the police briefing, he discovers Detective Miyamoto, who is a dynamic official and possibly of importance for the series.
He visits Aoki’s house and goes through his mail. He finds that Aoki was in debt and visits the company - the debtor - premises. He finds the lot vacated and senses something fishy. He mentions this in his report, only to be vehemently warned and scolded by his superior. He is told to follow the police report, word by word, and not jump to conclusions of his own accord. ..
After work, he goes to Miyamoto and makes a deal: he will show him the ropes for journalists, and Jake will teach him how to pick up gaijin girls. The two stop at a nightclub where Jake meets the hostess, Samantha, a fellow American migrant. They share a conversation about Jake’s work, among other things. Miyamoto then takes Jake to a strip club, where he says to him about reporting, “There is no murder in Japan unless there is a witness”.
After the man’s death, Jake finds a packet of debt papers with the same logo as on Aoki’s. He realizes that the Yakuza were responsible for his debt and forced him to self-immolate. Jake bribes a policeman to get information on the man’s address, and his wife narrates how they charged excessively high interests on a small amount of money. They forced the man into shame and set himself on fire.
After his death, the money stopped being called for. The episode ends with an induction ceremony of a member of the Ishida Clan and Jake sees the vision of the man setting himself on fire, pleading with him to get justice. ..
The Episode Review
The first episode of ‘Tokyo Vice’ is a compelling look at life in Japan in the 1990s. Jake Adelsetien’s place in the scheme of things immediately arouses a tempting matchup with the realities of Tokyo unknown to him.
The Test is a reference to the entrance exam he takes and also describes the reconciliation of his own moral compass and prevailing ethics of journalism in Japan.
Jake is a young journalist who is trying to revive the art of journalism. He is focused on the old ways of journalism where it was an art and not just a way to get information. He uses his handwriting practice and his love of magazines and books to explore the story from his perspective. By doing this, he tries to reminisce the days when journalism was an art and not just a way to get information. ..
In order to get the most out of their reporting, journalists have to be willing to move around a lot. This is something that is mostly mitigated by the State’s control over services and its ability to digitize information. “Tokyo Vice” tells the story of a foreigner in a difficult position who must navigate the city’s murky underbelly. ..
