Robert (Bob) Whiting is a best-selling, critically-acclaimed author who has written extensively on Japan, Japanese-American relations, and sports.
His book You Gotta Have Wa was a Pulitzer Prize candidate and has recently been included in the Society for American Baseball Research’s (SABR) top fifty baseball books of the last fifty years.
Bob’s next book – Gamblers, Fraudsters, Dreamers & Spies: the outsiders who shaped modern Japan – is out now. You can order it here.
Read the reviews here.
You can subscribe to Bob’s Substack and podcast, Robert Whiting’s Japan, which provide regular analysis of Japanese sports, politics, and business.
“VERDICT A brilliant, insightful look into the panoply of outsiders who contributed to the making of Japanese history in the modern age.“
“the ideal read for your next long-haul flight or on a quiet weekend down by the coast”
Listen to Bob speak on Gamblers at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan’s Book Break below.
This site is a work-in-progress archive of Bob’s work featuring material previously unreleased in English.
Bob’s books
Bob published his memoir – Tokyo Junkie – in 2021. It covers his life in Japan and combines Japanese post-war history and Japanese-American relations with his own experiences. You can read excerpts here.
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You can read more on Bob’s books here
Bio-doc under development
Award winning filmmaker, Rionne McAvoy, is in the process of producing a bio-doc of Bob’s life and is looking for further support to bring the project to fruition.
Selected work
This site aggregates Robert’s work – hosted here or elsewhere. Below, a small selection:
- (2019) “Agony and ecstasy: Why Japan is obsessed with high school baseball“, Nikkei Asia Review, July 24
- (1989) “The Pain of Perfection“, Sports Illustrated, May
- (2020) “Inside story of US black ops in post-war Japan“, The Asia Times, August 19
- (2014) “Negative impact of the 1964 Olympics profound“, The Japan Times, October 24
Recent work & contributions
- (2025) “Defying wars and trade fights, baseball still forges bonds between U.S. and Japan“, Washington Times, February 17
- (2025) “To get published in Japan, write non-fiction“, The Japan News, January 2
- (2024) “Wall to wall coverage of Ohtani is more than justified“, October 28
- (2024) “‘In Service of the Shogun’ Book Review: An Englishman in Japan“, The Wall Street Journal, July 19
- (2023) “The best books to learn about life“, Shepherd.com book recommendations, June
- (2023) “Showcasing Japanese baseball requires saving Meiji Jingu Stadium“, Nikkei Asia, June 4
- (2023) “Field of Nightmares“, FCCJ Number 1 Shimbun, June
Meiji Jingu re-development protest efforts
Bob is a prominent voice against the problematic redevelopment plan of Meiji Jingu and the historic 97-year-old Meiji Jingu Kyujo — site of the historic Big Six University Baseball competition and home ballpark of the Yakult Swallows. You can see his articles and talks on the subject here. Sign-up here and here to keep up to date and support protest efforts.
You can hear him speak on the stadium’s history and proposed re-development with Rochelle Kopp – another prominent figure who has lodged two legal challenges against the plan – below.
Tokyo Junkie 