1. How did you first hear about Yoshi Kojima and his elusive butterfly smuggling?
The story became national news soon after Kojima’s arrest. It was just such a quirky topic. Who would smuggle butterflies and why? Most people envision butterfly collectors as mild-mannered lepidopterists wearing pith helmets and swinging their nets wildly in the air. Saturday Night Live even used Kojima’s arrest as fodder for a skit. What people don’t realize is that the illegal butterfly trade translates into big money. There are butterflies that sell for $39,000 and up. U.S. Fish and Wildlife estimates the illegal butterfly trade to be worth $200 million a year.
2. What did you expect to happen when you flew across the world on a whim to find him?
I honestly had no idea what would take place. Fish and Wildlife agent Ed Newcomer was no longer in touch with Kojima, and I had no contacts in Japan to check his whereabouts. For all I knew, he would be out of town when I arrived. Kojima constantly traveled before his arrest. One week he’d be collecting butterflies in Madagascar and the next would find him in Costa Rica. I figured there was a fifty-fifty chance he’d be at home. Even so, I wouldn’t have been surprised to knock on his door only to have him slam it closed in my face. As it turns out, Kojima had been hospitalized for three weeks and released just four days before my arrival.
3. Do you ever fear the repercussions, if Kojima were to learn your true identity?
I fully expect that Yoshi will figure out who I am. He’s a very clever man. I interviewed a number of his friends and acquaintances in California. Word will eventually get back to him, if it hasn’t already. As far as repercussions, that’s not something I tend to dwell on. I’m sure Kojima will be angry at first, but he also craves attention. “You’re the butterfly movie star,” Newcomer once told him. Kojima had replied that he hoped so. He still sells butterflies on the Internet. Who knows? This book could make him more popular than ever. In that sense, it’s probably a double-edged sword.
4. The relationship between Kojima and Newcomer develops into something completely bizarre. Do you think this played a large role in Kojima’s eventual capture and imprisonment?
Absolutely. Kojima flew to L.A. in July 2006 solely for one reason. He’d become as obsessed with Ed Newcomer as he was with butterflies, and Newcomer gladly provided the bait. In the end, Kojima’s heart betrayed him as much as Newcomer did.
5. It seems like Kojima spent his whole life weaving a web of lies. What is it about this man that makes him able to get away with such deceit?
It’s amazing. He was able to fool everyone around him. It didn’t matter if they were government officials or some of his closest friends. I think Yoshi had lied for so long that he’d actually begun to believe his own tales. One butterfly collector remarked that Yoshi reminded him of Frank Abagnale, the con man in Catch Me If You Can. Kojima was that good until he got caught. I heard many of the same stories when we met in Japan. The only difference was that after prison, Kojima had even more tales to weave.
6. Tell us about the theme of “obsession” and the role it plays throughout the story you uncovered.
I began my research for this book by interviewing lepidopterists and butterfly collectors. The consistent thread throughout was how their interest in collecting had morphed into full-blown obsession, creating havoc in their lives. Most collectors were men who admitted to having problems with social skills. Their obsession had led many to divorce, bankruptcy, depression, alcoholism, and drugs. One collector confessed, “None of us are normal. We’re driven toward something that doesn’t put food on the table and that we can’t take with us when we die. There’s a lot about this hobby that goes way too far. There is a dark side here.”
Vladimir Nabokov, author of Lolita, referred to his obsession with butterflies as his demon. In the same vein, Kojima had to have every single species of butterfly and as many of them as he could get. The more rare it was, the more he wanted it.
Finally, there was my own obsession with the story. The more I learned about Kojima, the more I wanted to know. That obsession took me halfway around the world in order to find him.
7. Were there any incidents with Kojima that weren’t covered in Winged Obsession?
What readers don’t know is that I maintained a Skype relationship with Kojima upon returning home. Yoshi was very interested in purchasing a particular species of butterfly native to the United States. The Diana fritillary is a large, beautiful butterfly found in moist, mountainous habitats in the southern Appalachians and the Ozark Mountains. The female is a dramatic dark blue-black, with a dusting of light blue spots on the edge of its wings, and is sought after by collectors. The population is declining over much of its historic range and has been listed as a species of concern.
Yoshi had been in touch with an American collector who didn’t have the proper U.S. Fish and Wildlife permits to send the Diana fritillary overseas. The collector was probably also wary of dealing with Kojima. That’s where I came in. Yoshi asked if I would act as an intermediary. He wanted me to buy the butterflies from the collector and then send them to him in Japan by Express Mail. Yoshi kept assuring me that I wouldn’t get in trouble since authorities rarely inspect Express Mail packages. The more I hedged, the more Kojima pressed that I do him this favor. It was then that I ended our Skype conversations.