‘Tokyo Vice’: Meet Naoki Hayama – Ishida’s Second-In-Command

‘Tokyo Vice’ is a crime drama television series adapted from Jake Adelstein’s book of the same name, created by J. T. Rogers. The show explores the underworld of crime and corruption in Tokyo, following the experiences of an American journalist as he navigates the complexities of Japanese society. ‘Tokyo Vice’ has a plethora of interesting characters, and it seems that more are being added with each passing season. In the second episode, we met Naoki Hayama played by Yōsuke Kubozuka and he is bound to become a serious player in the coming episode. Let’s see who Hayama is and how he is connected to Ishida.

Naoki Hayama is a new character in season 2 of ‘Tokyo Vice’

Naoki Hayama debuted in ‘Tokyo Vice’ Season 2 Episode 2 and so far little is known regarding his past except for the fact that he spent seven years in prison and as soon as he was released Ishida took him under his wing and practically restored him to a status of high-ranking Chihara-kai Yakuza. This means that Sato now reports to him and Hayam is responsible for collecting money from the establishments that were in the prior control of the Tozawa organization.

Hayam is played by Yōsuke Kubozuka. Yosuke began his career as a model, later transitioning to acting with his debut in the 1995 TV crime drama ‘Kindaichi Case Files.’ He gained fame for his role as Yoshito Kikuchi in the 1998 TV series ‘GTO.’ Kubozuka starred in ‘Ikebukuro West Gate Park’ in 2000, alongside famous Japanese actors like Tomoya Nagase, Ken Watanabe, and Tomohisa Yamashita. He portrayed the character ‘King’ in the drama, playing Takashi Ando, a leader of the G-Boys. In 2001, he appeared in ‘Strawberry on the Shortcake,’ taking on the role of Kyoko Fukada’s first love. Kubozuka received critical acclaim for his role in the film ‘Go,’ earning two awards at the Japan Academy Film Prize in 2001.

There is bound to be conflict between Hayama and Sato

Soon after assuming his duties Hayama set out to collect “insurance” money from establishments that were usually under Tozawa’s control. We know that Tozawa wasn’t present in the first several episodes of season 2 due to being treated abroad due to his mysterious disease. Ishida knows that Tozawa is missing and wonders where he is, so while Hayama is roughing up people who owe him money his under the impression that Tozawa is still missing. One woman whom Hayama attacked because of the money told him that Tozawa would be back for vengeance and Hayama told her self-assured that Tozawa was gone, however in episode 3 that was clearly proven false since Tozawa returned, looking better than ever.

Sato, meanwhile is now worried that Tozawa will be back to retaliate while Hayama actually hopes that they will strike. But this is not the primary problem that Sato has with Hayama, it’s his brother Kaito. In episode 3 we see Sato bringing Hayama to Kaito’s dorm room. Kaito studies computer science and is quite adept at making websites.

Hayama, having a nose for business immediately recognizes potential in such sites. Kaito can easily make websites for consumer goods purchases such as sneakers which leads Hayama to employ Kaito to create websites for Chihara-Kai. Sato, who doesn’t want his brother involved in a life of crime that he himself leads is extremely worried about this. This will undoubtedly lead to more trouble between Sato and Hayama in the following episodes.

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