| Rising Sun | |
|---|---|
First edition cover |
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| Author(s) | Michael Crichton |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Crime thriller |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf[1] |
| Publication date | January 27, 1992 |
| Media type | Hardcover, paperback |
| Pages | 385 |
| ISBN | 0394589424 |
| OCLC Number | 24216739 |
| Dewey Decimal | 813/.54 20 |
| LC Classification | PS3553.R48 R57 1992 |
| Preceded by | Jurassic Park |
| Followed by | Disclosure |
Rising Sun is a 1992 internationally best-selling novel by Michael Crichton about a murder in the Los Angeles headquarters of Nakamoto, a fictional Japanese corporation. The book was published by Alfred A. Knopf.[2]
Although a detective/murder mystery novel at first glance, Rising Sun deals with the controversial subject of Japanese-American relations, and questions the premise that foreign direct investment in the high-technology sectors of the United States is beneficial. Throughout the book, the differences between the Japanese and Western mindsets are highlighted, especially in the areas of business strategy and corporate culture.[3]
Contents |
Nakamoto Corporation is celebrating the grand opening of its new headquarters, the Nakamoto Tower, in Los Angeles; the 45th floor of the building is awash with celebrities, dignitaries and local politicians. On the 46th floor of the very same building, Cheryl Lynn Austin, 23, is murdered. Lieutenant Peter J. Smith, the Special Services Liaison for the LAPD, is assigned to this case. He is joined, on request, by retired Captain John Connor who has lived in Japan and is well-acquainted with Japanese culture.
Upon arriving at Nakamoto Tower, the two policemen learn from officer-in-charge Tom Graham that the Japanese, led by Nakamoto employee Ishiguro, are stalling the investigation by demanding that the liaison be present. Although they have a valid pretense in that the unsubtly racist Graham is threatening to disrupt the celebration, it is obvious to Connor that a cover-up is underway. The mystery deepens once the detectives realize that the tapes from the security cameras on the 46th floor have mysteriously disappeared and the security guards are deliberately unhelpful. Smith and Connor then visit the apartment of the late Ms. Austin, quickly realizing that she was in reality a mistress for the Japanese Yakuza. It seems that Ms. Austin's home had been ransacked no more than half an hour after her death. After several visits to friends and associates of Ms. Austin and Nakamoto, the two detectives quickly pin the crime on Eddie Sakamura, a wealthy Japanese playboy from Kyoto. However, despite apprehending Sakamura at a nearby party, the two are inclined to release him, due to Eddie's previous associations with John Connor.
The two officers are then summoned to witness the autopsy of the late Ms. Austin; trace evidence strongly suggests a Japanese killer. Afterwards, Smith and Connor are approached by Ishiguro, who now presents them with seemingly authentic videos from the security cameras, which show Sakamura to be the true murderer. Having solved the mystery, Connor returns home to rest, while Smith and Graham go to apprehend Sakamura. Upon arriving at Eddie's house, the two detectives are stalled by two women while Eddie escapes in a Ferrari. After a high-speed chase, Eddie's car crashes and bursts into flames.
The next day, the newspaper runs editorials criticizing Smith, Graham, and Connor’s actions as racist and accuses them of police brutality. Soon afterward, Smith receives a phone call from the Chief of Police, declaring the investigation officially over. Smith isn’t satisfied, and decides to take the tapes to the University of Southern California, in order to make copies. There, Smith meets Theresa Asakuma, a Japanese student who is an expert on computers and software manipulation. She is able to quickly point out that the tapes were indeed copies. After copying the tapes, Smith then picks up Connor after his golf game with several Japanese friends. On their way back to the USC labs, the two detectives are offered lucrative incentives from the Japanese, including a membership at an expensive golf club and extremely low-priced real estate offers. They then visit and consult with companies and industries involved with Nakamoto, in order to learn more about the killer's motives. Along the way, they realize that they are only pawns in a much larger political and economic "war" between America and Japan, and how much the United States relies on Japan, which dominates the American electronics industry.
Finally, they meet with U.S. Senator, John Morton, who is a potential presidential candidate in the upcoming elections. They also learn that Morton fiercely opposes the Japanese purchase of MicroCon, a small Silicon Valley company that manufactures machinery. Eventually, they return to USC, where Connor and Theresa are able to deduce that Eddie had been set up by the Japanese who had edited the tapes. They then undo the changes, discovering that Senator Morton was apparently the real killer and that Eddie had only been observing. The duo then returns to Smith’s apartment, where they discover Eddie Sakamura, alive; the man who had actually been killed was a Japanese photographer named Tanaka who had been in Eddie’s garage, searching for the tapes, before panicking and taking off in Eddie's car, which led to his death. The trio then goes to confront Senator Morton, who, following his speech, confesses to his role in Cheryl Austin’s death. The senator then walks calmly upstairs, where he shoots himself in the bathroom. Soon afterward, an angry Ishiguro arrives to confront Eddie and the two detectives, making subtle threats to their lives. Strangely, Eddie reacts calmly, leading Connor to conclude afterward that Eddie still possesses an original copy of the tape from the security cameras. Smith and Connor then travel to Eddie’s home, where they find his corpse floating in the swimming pool; he had apparently been tortured to death for the location of the stolen tape. Connor drops Smith off at his home.
Upon entering his apartment, Smith realizes that Eddie had left the tape at the place and thus Smith would become the next target. Ishiguro's men arrive and wait for him outside; he quickly orders his babysitter to hide his daughter and herself in the upstairs bedroom. Connor sneaks back to Smith’s apartment, carrying a bulletproof vest. The two detectives then engage in a gun battle with the thugs waiting outside, and Smith is shot in the back, although his vest saves his life.
The next day, the two detectives watch the tape that Eddie had left behind; Austin wasn't accidentally killed by Morton, but by Ishiguro after Morton and Eddie got away. They go to Nakamoto Towers to apprehend Ishiguro, interrupting an important meeting. The detectives show the tape of the murder to the meeting attendees, and a shocked and angry Ishiguro commits suicide by jumping off the building, landing in the wet cement below. Having solved the mystery, Connor answers Smith’s questions before dropping him off at his apartment. The book then concludes with Smith’s statements about America’s future with Japan.
Random House abridged the novel into an audiobook read by Keith Szarabajka, which ran approximately three hours.
The book was adapted into a film, the 1993 release Rising Sun starring Sean Connery as Connor, Wesley Snipes as Smith, Tia Carrere as Asakuma and Harvey Keitel as Graham. Several changes were made in adapting the story for the film. Caucasian Peter Smith was changed to African-American Webster ("Webb") Smith, Ishiguro became Ishihara, and Theresa became Jingo. Additionally, the identity of the murderer was changed from Ishiguro/Ishihara to Bob Richmond, and reflected in the solution to the film.
Reviews for the novel were widely mixed (owing mostly to the controversial subject matter), to positive. The New York Times's Christopher Lehmann-Haupt gave the novel a mixed review, saying, "The trouble with Rising Sun is obviously that as a serious discourse on why we should begin waging economic war against Japan, the book is far too entertaining. And as an entertainment, it is far too didactic."[9]
Other online reviewers called it "a completely over-the-top anti-Japan polemic--kind of like Robert Ludlum interspersed with the Protocols of the Elders of Zion” and that it should read only as a reminder of “how little attention you should pay to the ideological ravings of our intellectual elites"[10]
Another critic wrote “The author claims that the Japanese are the most racist people in the world and that no foreigner will ever be viewed at the same level as a pure Japanese. All Japanese characters are portrayed badly."[11] Later it was reported that these types of reviews surprised the author. The Chicago Sun-Times wrote "he knew Rising Sun would ruffle feathers, the vehemence of the reaction came as a surprise. Challenges to his economic premise - that the United States is selling its future to Japan - failed to materialize. Instead, he recalls with obvious annoyance, American critics labelled him racist."[12]
In his Associated Press obituary his rebuttal to the criticism of Rising Sun was quoted, saying "because I'm always trying to deal with data, I went on a tour talking about it and gave a very careful argument, and their response came back, 'Well you say that but we know you're a racist.'"[13] Furthermore Crichton has gone on record as saying that he intended his novel to be a "wakeup call" to U.S. industry and that he is more critical of the United States than Japan. According to activist Guy Aoki "if that was his intention, he failed miserably,” and “what you had instead was every character going on for pages about how unfair Japanese business practices are[...] the book was a very one-sided view of what the Japanese are doing, saying that there's reason to not trust them and not like them."[14]