I Enjoyed This Easy-to-read Police Procedural Mystery. It...

I enjoyed this easy-to-read police procedural mystery. It’s set in present-day Japan (Tokyo mostly), which is a fascinating milieu and a character in itself. I liked the treatment of the police investigation, which struggles to catch up with murders and break-ins on the eve of treaty negotiations between Japan and the United States. The police make errors, hope for some luck and are generally uninspiring investigators who rely on experience and informants more than they do detective skills. There is a great deal of interesting history, especially pertaining to Japanese swordmaking and martial arts, while the plot involving Fukushima, US military bases and corrupt politicians is easily believable. Criticism of the United States’ militarization of the region (indeed, the whole world) is spot on.