Japan’s traditional mafia organisation, the yakuza, has become almost respectable, leaving space for more violent Chinese gangs to muscle in on their turf.
The ‘bad’ Yakuza boss, Tozawa in the series Tokyo Vice.
James Lisle/HBO Max
Swedish researcher Andreas Johansson interviewed 30 members of a Japanese Yakuza clan in 2015.
Attempts to curtail demand by resorting to extrajudicial killings may have popular appeal, but may ultimately serve to consolidate crime groups, raise protection costs and temporarily displace activities to less hostile locations.
Damir Sagolj/Reuters
Organised crime groups are profiting from the fruits of globalisation such as free-trade agreements as well as the massive upgrade of the region’s infrastructure and connectivity now underway.
Japanese yakuza gangsters have made significant donations to tsunami relief efforts.
AAP
Should we bother to ask whether some gifts and donations could be interpreted as thinly veiled bribes, or is the distinction always clear? A recent example of the potential ambiguity of gift-giving was…