how do you recognize a yakuza? how do you know if someone is a yakuza? >> it's the smell. >> it's the smell? >> yes. >> what kind of smell? >> the smell of another beast. >> when you join the yakuza, they become your family. >> no american knows more about the inner workings of the yakuza than jake adelstein. he spent years in tokyo, investigating and writing about the mob. >> generally speaking, yakuza get rid of bodies by dumping them in the foundations of buildings. they own lots of construction companies. so, you know, you're pouring a new building, you throw the body in the cement, and nobody ever finds it. >> so when you look around at all these tall buildings in tokyo... >> you could be looking at a graveyard. >> it's impossible to miss the mark of a yakuza: severed fingers. tradition demands when a mistake is made, they chop off their own finger to atone and present the severed part to their boss. many have ornate tattoos that often cover the entire body, marking them for life. [traditional japanese music] but unlike the mafia in america, yakuza

. >> yakuza, that's the fraternal organization prominent in the entertainment and financial servicesvise things here. principally, your arcades, gambling, pachenko, adult entertainment, porn shops and sex clubs, along with other ancillary services. but how much actual boning is going on in the sex district? generally speaking, it's more a field of dreams than the actual act of sex. hostess cafes, for instance, where a lonely, overworked salary man can find the attention of cute, seemingly adoring girls who find their every utterance fascinating. so now a hostess bar -- i just want somebody to tell me i'm fantastic. oh, you're so interesting. your job is interesting. you are a very sexy man. i don't care what your wife says. i think you're really interesting. >> yeah, yeah, yeah. >> penetration, maybe by a q-tip in the ear, followed by a personal love spell in this case to make your tea taste better. ♪ what is this place? what's happening here? are these boys? >> young boy host clubs, not for men but for middle-aged ladies who are bored with the regular housewife life. >> wait a minut

. >> reporter: did the yakuza have anything to do with your employment? >> they were a former member of the fukushima branch of a right wing group. >> reporter: but he says the japanese mafia is only a tiny part of the many companies that are getting rich of a $50 billion cleanup effort. >> translator: it is the structure that is evil. wages are skimmed all along the way and the worker at the very bottom actually doing the work sees their pay going down. >> reporter: i spoke with a tepco spokesperson in tokyo who defended the company's handling of workers. isn't this tepco's responsibility, after all these workers are working for you. >> translator: if there are labor practices occurring that violate the law, there is a legal process to remedy those situations. however, it is our responsibility to improve the working environment inside the plant. we've made a lot of progress but we do aim for an even higher level of improvement. >> reporter: but any improvement wit will be too latr the invisible army of workers, many of whom fear they no longer have a fut

[ticking] [ticking] >> it is the mark of the yakuza: ornate, full-body tattoos that cover the membersjapanese mob. so how did one of their most notorious godfathers get into america and jump to the front of a line for a lifesaving liver transplant? this reporter found out and says it may cost him his life. >> as he was leaving and getting in his car, he said, "that"-- you know, "that--that goddamn american jew reporter. i want to kill him." [ticking] >> greg mortenson's book three cups of tea is a publishing phenomenon that has made him a celebrity, a cult-like figure