Samantha
Samantha is an American expat living and working in the Kabukicho district of Japan. She works as a hostess at a local club and serves many regulars from wealthy businessmen to members of the Yakuza.
Most notably, she has a connection with Sato, which is threatened by Jake Adelstein's investigations of the Yakuza.
Biography[edit | edit source]
Meeting Jake[edit | edit source]
Samantha initially meets Jake when he frequents the club she works in whilst working with Miyamoto. The two talk, and it quickly becomes clear to Jake that Samantha is only talking to him because he is buying champagne from the club and she is, therefore, earning a commission. Nonetheless, the conversation between the two hits off, and Samantha seems keen to continue such conversation, but Jake has to leave shortly after.
Jake later returns to the club to talk with Samantha again, and the two enjoy a chat in one of the booths at the club. Complexities arise, however, when Sato arrives at the club and asks to speak with Samantha. She obliges Sato's request and tells Jake that she has other business to attend to, but he is reluctant to end their conversation and instead, joins Samantha and Sato. Jake is forced to leave shortly after to catch his train home, leaving Samantha and Sato to talk.
Samantha and Jake later have dinner together, and it becomes clear that the friendship between the two is growing. Jake is caught of guard when Samantha tells him to ask her the question he has been wanting to ask: is she a prostitute. Samantha toys with him by citing random figures for the cost of her services, but eventually laughs and tells him that she is a hostess, not a prostitute. The two continue to talk, delving deeper into Jake's family and his reason for working in Tokyo.
Work issues[edit | edit source]
Since working in Tokyo, Samantha begins to witness the harsh treatment she and the other hostesses face at the club they work at. On one occasion, she is privy to the owner taking advantage of Polina, one of the girls, with threats of firing her if she does not oblige. Samantha tells her to hang in there as she is working on setting up her own club, but can only take a few of the girls.
Despite having ample available funds for the project, Samantha finds it difficult to find a real estate agent that is willing to rent, or sell, a property to her for her to start her own club. When she approaches a particular agent in downtown Tokyo, she is told that the owner will not sell to her because she is a woman.
Appearances[edit | edit source]
- Season One
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- Whilst she works at the club in downtown Tokyo, she makes it clear to Jake that she is a hostess, not a prostitute.
- She is very close with Sato, but their origin story is not clear.