Kodansha International

Kodansha International was the English-language division of Kodansha and was originally slated to publish Jake Adelstein’s book about Tadamasa Goto and other material concerning organized crime. Its involvement brought the project close to public notice before publication; after assessing the risks of proceeding, the publisher ultimately pulled the book.

Publishing Plans

Adelstein first wrote up the material for a book that was to be published by Kodansha International. The account identifies the company as Kodansha’s English-language division and describes Kodansha as one of Japan’s oldest and best-known publishers. When Adelstein tried adapting the story for a weekly magazine, the magazine rejected it, leaving the book project as a significant route for the investigation to reach readers.

The Website Disclosure

In November 2007, Adelstein discovered that Kodansha International had placed a long introduction to the book on its European website without notifying him. The description did not disclose the whole story, but it contained enough to alert Tadamasa Goto or his associates that a damaging account might be forthcoming. Adelstein had the page removed, but later judged that he had underestimated the associates’ ability to read English and their possible use of Google Alerts. An associate subsequently suggested that someone may also have obtained a catalog description of the book, which could have confirmed their suspicions. By December 2007, Adelstein was receiving indications of serious danger; in January 2008, he received definite confirmation that Goto was again planning to kill him.

Risk Assessment and Withdrawal

Kodansha International later commissioned an external assessment of the risks of publishing the book. The assessment’s conclusion was unfavorable, and the publisher pulled the project. The withdrawal came amid a broader pattern of difficulty getting the Goto investigation into print: other outlets had declined to publish or had ignored Adelstein’s reporting. In this case, the book’s online description had already helped draw attention to the material, while the eventual risk decision prevented Kodansha International from bringing the book to publication.