I absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down. I can see this happening so easily. The story hooks you right from the beginning and forcing you to keep reading to find out what happens next. So glad I read it even though I'm curious what happens next as I could see it going either way.

Tokyo Green is an excellent scifi addressing the question of what really happens when robots become much more prolific in daily care. And CD Wright has created a fascinating plot with the proper corporate evil characters to also address the problem Japan (and soon China and the US) are facing with a growing elderly population that needs care, while not having the children to provide that care. It’s a very enjoyable read.

3.5 stars.
I requested this book from Net Galley because I thought the premise sounded interesting (and it was). The near-future technological encroachment into every aspect of people's lives (and even into their bodies, with implants and nanotech being common and accepted) felt pretty prescient. And in a lot of ways tech is great, until bad guys use it for nefarious purposes!
The primary villain's political slogan of "Make Japan Great Again" was a little too on-the-nose for me, although the fact that he got his business/money from his father, and his greed and general perviness made it pretty obvious that he was modeled after 45 (with the exception of his martial arts skills).
I am not very techno-literate so I didn't fully understand the sections where Tomo set up the servers and security for the AI, but it didn't really matter to the overall story that I didn't get it.
Overall I really enjoyed it.

I was all in for an armchair trip to Japan, especially once AI was mentioned. I didn’t expect to read two books back to back prominently featuring pot, but that just seems like a weirdly random occurrence. Although it does give a title something of a double entendre. But yeah, Japan and AI were enough to convince me to check out this book from an unknown author and it turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. Not just because the man lives in Japan and therefore his descriptions of nature and culture have the much welcome realism, but because it was generally a good book. The story drew me in from the very beginning. The book is definitely a work of science fiction through and through, but like the best sci fi what makes it so compelling is the social relatability. Sure, Tokyo Green’s near future has advanced AI and sophisticated technology, but the world is still very recognizably our own and all the things characters have to deal with are as contemporary and significant now as they are in 2048. The main protagonist, Japanese American Tomo, is working on perfecting the latest model in robotics in Silicon Valley and this one can pass Turing test and then some. But Tomo’s quality of life is low, despite having a job in something like 30% national unemployment. The job offers no balance or satisfaction, so he jacks his AI’s prototype and takes off for Japan, where in a wake of his parents tragic deaths in a tsunami, he comes to find a life and work, both providing him with real meaning and satisfaction. Which is to say he becomes a caretaker for the elderly at his grandmother’s co op, a seemingly small job but in a society with such a huge population crisis as Japan it turns into a huge thing, practically a battlefield between an evil corporate interest and a sustainable humane way forward. And yes, there’s pot, lots of it. Which isn’t legal in Japan, so it makes it all the more contentious of a thing. There are culture clashes, battles of wills, even actual fighting, but mostly what draws you in is how engaging Tomo’s story is and how meticulously and logically the world building is in the story. Something about the play by play quality of the narrative I found very engaging. And yes, having an awesome AI on board certainly helped, not just Tomo with his work, but also the readers with the general enjoyment. It is, after all, where all the humorous aspects of the narrative come from. Sara isn’t just a clever construct, she is a genuinely self aware self learning intelligent consciousness that one wishes the future held. So yeah, a very enjoyable book all around. A smart socially aware work of science fiction and just a genuinely good story. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

This is my first time reading, C.D. Wright’s work but I’m glad I did. This book was a quality science fiction read, full of clever ideas and interesting characters. Highly recommended.