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to write about your dealings with Russian gangsters and stuff. I'm here to write about the oil industry. I'm not gonna cause you any trouble." So the guy comes back. He's all relaxed. And I say: "Okay. Good night." And that's it. [Kerry laughs.] BR: Sounds like something out of a movie. BF: Yeah. But the Chechens really did shoot my colleague. That was after this happened to me... So, once that took place, I did make a file and I still have it—in hard discs and DVDs with voice recordings and videos. For example, a well-known Japanese Prime Minister has murdered three women and I have the proof in one of these [cases]. A lot of stuff like that. But my job is not to try to expose people. Okay? That's not where I'm coming from. That was just insurance I had to take out. I don't need that insurance any more because now I have the secret society backing me... I'm trying to save the planet. So this stuff will never come out, probably ever, as long as they don't kill me, basically. If they do, there'll be horrible repercussions of all sorts. But, again, I'm trying to make a win-win situation for everybody. Okay? So, now we'll go back to when I just arrived in Japan. =. you give that to the public. So that's the job. You're an information filter. BR: But there are other financial journalists out there who're just towing the party line. This is categorically what you haven't been doing. You're a real maverick in this field. BF: Well, you see, it's very-high-level propaganda. They're brainwashed. They really, really do not understand, at the essence, what it's all about. And that's the trick. They try to get people sidetracked into esoteric mathematics, and they try to cover it with lots of complex words... It's like almost a deliberate confusion, because at the essence it's really very simple. Economics is people working to earn their living. Finance is the process of deciding what people will do next. They try to not let us understand this, especially the part about finance. And that is the key to the world's problems now. basically. If they do, there'll be horrible repercussions of all Power behind the scenes sorts. But, again, I'm trying to make a win-win situation for KC: As a journalist, didn't you get pushed back from Forbes's everybody. Okay? So, now we'll go back to when I just arrived saying "No, don't write this" or "Don't write that"? in Japan. BF: Okay. The first thing I noticed in Japan—that everything was not as it Financial reporting as mass seemed—was when I saw some people " psychology SO, here you have a whole lined up at a little booth. And I said: KC: So, you're in Tokyo, you've system outside of the legal "What are you doing?" "We're gone to college. Did you go apply to . changing our prizes for money"—from work for Forbes at that point? framework; it connects the pachinko, which is a kind of slot BF: No, my first job...well, I policemen, gangsters and machine. And you find out that they wanted to write a "theory of have a huge gambling industry, with everything". But, you know, you businessmen. This made me giant neon signs everywhere, that's can't really pay the bills that way, so realise that something was basically illegal. And yet it functions, the first job I got was with an outfit . . " openly and with rules. For example, called Knight Ridder, part of the different about this country. no matter how hard you could try, it's Knight Ridder newspaper chain, with going to be hard to lose more than their financial wire. So I would go $1,000 a day at those places. meet the finance ministers an So, here you have a whole system governors of the Bank of Japan. I wrote all the market news. outside of the legal framework; it connects policemen, gangsters My stories would move the dollar, or move the yen, or move the and businessmen. This made me realise that something was commodities every week, back and forth. It was really amazing different about this country. What I learned was that the so- to see that. What I learned there as a financial market reporter is called "legal democratic system" was a "front" for a very that, really, finance is mass psychology... That was a very different, real power structure. This is something that I learned interesting lesson that you don't learn in the school club. in tidbits. First was the pachinko. KC: You learned the power of the written word at that point? A friend of mine got beaten up by a gangster in front of a BF: Well, it's the information and how they all have this story police box. We went to the police box...and the policeman said: that they're following and they're looking for slight changes. For "You shouldn't pick fights with gangsters." So I say: "That's example, the Governor of the Bank of Japan says: "Well, we weird." But again, I thought this was just related to gambling might tighten interest rates a bit." And everything moves. and prostitution, which is a grey area anywhere, really. Right? Or even for the commodities markets. Rumours that As a financial journalist with the wire service, it's very China's gonna buy oil, or something like that, will cause important to be quick. If you beat your competitors by 30 everything to move. seconds, it's considered a big scoop. So you have to find out KC: We listened to this interview with the Canadian radio where the power comes from. And talking, for example, to the and you show an incredible understanding about the economy of ureaucrats at the Agriculture Ministry, they said: "Well, if you the world, really, and about what makes it tick. Where did you want to know what's really happening, talk to Mr Kato Koichi." learn everything about that? He was the LDP powerbroker, and he was the man making BF: Well, of course, I did all the university classes in decisions then. So I got to know him. Once I got called as a economics and stuff. But, basically, for over 20 years I've been pinch-hitter [stand-in] for one of his speeches. Then he came up following it, writing about it. I mean, everybody comes to and made his speech, and he was very impressive. He got a big Tokyo: presidents and prime ministers, finance ministers. You fat envelope of cash. have the G7s and all that stuff... And I've been interviewing Then, I thought the Finance Ministry was the real source of gangsters, prime ministers, finance ministers, presidents of big power in Japan—that's what people believe. It was the most companies, presidents of small companies, you know—just more powerful bureaucracy. But when I started talking with the than 20 years, almost 30 years, interviewing all sorts of people. eople at the Finance Ministry, they told me finally: "If you You suck in huge amounts of information and look for the really want to know what's going on, you have to go to Nomura nuggets that are easy to understand and convey the essence, and Securities." "So, here you have a whole system outside of the legal framework; it connects policemen, gangsters and businessmen. This made me realise that something was different about this country." JUNE — JULY 2008 NEXUS +13 www.nexusmagazine.com