The new series “Tokyo Vice” takes viewers back to 1990s Japan, when the Yakuza, Japan’s mob, ruled Tokyo’s red-light district. The series is inspired by the real-life experiences of American crime journalist Jake Adelstein, who worked at Japan’s largest newspaper.

The American production was filmed in Japan and stars Ansel Elgort of “West Side Story” fame. Crime drama director Michael Mann directed the show’s pilot, and Elgort learned how to speak Japanese for the series.

“I felt totally immersed in it, like it was real,” Elgort said. “And, you know, working with Michael Mann was so cool because he really wants the audience to feel immersed. He wants his actors to feel immersed. I feel like we were in a Tokyo that we’ve never really seen before on screen.”

Screenwriter J.T. Rogers wrote the series. He and Adelstein were high school friends in Missouri.

“A number of years ago, out of the blue, he called me,” Rogers said. “He said, 'Listen, have you been getting threatening phone calls in Japanese on your mobile phone?'”

Rogers had been getting calls in Japanese. “And he sort of went, ‘God. I’m so sorry. The worst mobster in Tokyo has found out that I know his darkest secret. He stole my Rolodex. And he’s calling everyone I love and threatening to kill them.’”

“OK, now I’m interested,” Rogers said.

The series also stars one of Japan’s biggest stars, Ken Watanabe (“The Last Samurai,” “Memoirs of a Geisha.”) He said he knew little about the underworld in Tokyo before making the series.

“No, it’s so dangerous. So dangerous,” Watanabe said. “JT Rogers, he wrote a great script about whole episodes. We could not show that movie. We need to do eight hours more. And the long story about each character has a deep background, and then a big dynamic wave of a storytelling. I really enjoyed about this project.”

Elgort enjoyed becoming Adelstein.

“As an actor, it was so cool to bring him to life because I got to study Japanese,” he said. “I got to study Aikido, the martial art. I got to learn how to be an investigative journalist.”

“Most of the cast is Japanese actors, who, you know, were kind enough with me to speak with me in Japanese as much as possible and help me get immersed into this role so that I could do a convincing job,” Elgort added.

The “West Side Story” star said his Adelstein doesn’t follow the rules in Japan.

“You know, he has an incredible drive. And while he’s so different than the people in Japan at the same time, he’s similar because he does things with tremendous passion and spirit,” Elgort said. “Now, Jake is an interesting character in Japan, because he doesn’t usually follow the rules. He likes to challenge authority, but because he clearly has his heart in the right place, and he just wants to uncover the truth and he just wants justice.”

The eight-episode series “Tokyo Vice” is playing on HBO Max.