Asuka Kasen

Background

Asuka Kasen is the co-leader of the Yakuza in Grand Theft Auto III, running the organisation with her brother Kenji. She is calm, disciplined and calculating, and she operates from a condo in Newport, Staunton Island. Asuka is a close friend of Maria Latore.

Asuka leads the Yakuza from her condo in Newport and from a construction site in Fort Staunton. She is a skilled organiser who takes care of the Yakuza's relationships with corrupt police, such as Ray Machowski, and with its allies.

Events of GTA III

Asuka first appears in Last Requests, waiting with Maria under the Callahan Bridge to help Claude escape Salvatore's trap. She takes him to Staunton Island, but demands proof of loyalty: in Sayonara Salvatore, Claude must kill Salvatore Leone.

Asuka then gives Claude a series of jobs. In Under Surveillance he wipes out FBI surveillance teams. In Paparazzi Purge he kills a reporter who has been spying on her and Maria. In Payday for Ray, Claude delivers a payment to the corrupt cop Ray Machowski through a chain of payphones. In Two-Faced Tanner, he kills a Yakuza driver revealed as an undercover cop.

After Kenji's death, Asuka captures Miguel and tortures him at the construction site in Fort Staunton. The information leads to Bait, where Claude lures Cartel death squads into a Yakuza trap; Espresso-2-Go!, where he destroys the Cartel's SPANK stands; and S.A.M., where he shoots down a Cartel plane.

In Ransom, Claude finds Asuka dead at the construction site, killed by Catalina.

After Kenji's death, Asuka believes the Cartel killed him, never learning that Claude was the one driving the Cartel Cruiser. Her revenge campaign against the Colombians drives the final missions of the game and ends with her murder by Catalina.

Personality

Asuka is cold, strategic and demanding. She expects total loyalty and uses violence without hesitation, but she treats Claude with respect once he proves himself.

Asuka is also willing to torture enemies for information, as she does with Miguel. Her friendship with Maria is one of the few warm relationships in the game.

Relationships

• Kenji Kasen: her brother and co-leader of the Yakuza.
• Maria Latore: her close friend.
• Claude: her trusted operative.
• Miguel and Catalina: her enemies.

• Kenji's killer: she never learns that Claude was the one who ran her brother over.
• Ray Machowski: a corrupt cop on the Yakuza payroll.

Trivia

• Asuka is voiced by Lianna Pai.

• Her missions start at two places: her condo in Newport and, later, the construction site in Fort Staunton.
• She is one of the few employers in GTA III who never turns against Claude.