in his capacity as Special Services Officer. Racially prejudiced against the Japanese. Fred Hoffmann — watch commander at DHD downtown. Suggests that Smith get the assistance of semi-retired, former Special Services Officer Captain John Conner. Captain John Connor — Semi-retired officer, on indefinite leave. Was the first SSO (liaison) with LAPD. Lived for a time in Japan and is an expert on Japanese culture and business practices. The Japanese executives are wary of him because they know he speaks Japanese and understands the nuances of Japanese culture. Cheryl Lynn Austin — The murder victim. A Texas-born prostitute, party girl and one-time model in Japan. Akira Tanaka — An officer of Nakamoto Security. Masao Ishiguro — A junior executive of the Nakamoto Corporation and liaison between Nakamoto and LAPD regarding the murder. Eddie Sakamura — A wealthy Japanese playboy, sometimes pimp, son of a wealthy man in Japan, small-time drug dealer, and promoter of the interests of his father's business empire in Japan. Ellen Farley — Assistant to the Mayor, whom Pete Smith has been dating recently. Jerome Phillips — Nakamoto Security guard on duty at the time of the investigation. Ted Cole — Nakamoto Security guard. Sen. John Morton — Senator who protests the Japanese industries' influence in America. Yoshida — CEO of Akai Ceramics America, a Nakamoto subsidiary, which is looking to buy MicroCon. Bob Richmond — Counsel to Akai and Nakamoto, a former assistant to the U.S. Trade Representative in Japan. Theresa Asakuma — Japanese-American graduate student of Professor Sanders and an expert in imaging technology. Professor Sanders — An imaging specialist. Willy "The Weasel" Wilhelm — an unethical reporter covering the case. Lauren Davis — Smith's former wife and mother of his daughter. Works for the District Attorney. Elaine — Michelle's nanny. The names Iwabuchi, Moriyama, Shirai (for some of the executives in the Nakamoto boardroom) and Koichi Nishi (a pseudonym Eddie Sakamura used to aid the police) are taken from the movie The Bad Sleep Well, which is later mentioned by Connor, though not by title. Adaptations 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