For Jake Adelstein's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Carrying a business card bearing a gang crest is "effectively a license to collect cash,” a former gang member says. “Without the crest, it’s just a sheet of paper.”
Law enforcement agencies in Japan are struggling to define exactly what the new coronavirus is, and what it is not.
Where some people see calamity, criminals see opportunity. As concern grows over the outbreak of COVID-19 in Japan, the denizens of the underworld haven't lost any time trying to find a way to profit from the situation. Crime, like the virus, never sleeps. The Japan ...
The Yamaguchi-gumi is one of the most feared crime syndicates in Japan and yet its name may become a relic of the past in 2020 if recent reports are to be believed. In terms of size, the Kobe-based Yamaguchi-gumi is already on the wane. The ...
The definition of a crime is a critical part of law enforcement. After all, what constitutes a crime such as theft is fundamental to working out whether or not someone is ultimately guilty of committing the offense. With this in mind, the administration of Prime ...
Furikome sagi (bank transfer scams) have become such an entrenched part of life in Japan that you can't even make a bank transfer via an ATM these days without first acknowledging a notice reminding you to refrain from sending money to people you don't ...
A set of revised organized crime ordinances went into effect on Oct. 1 in Roppongi, Kabukicho, Shibuya and 26 other designated special districts in Tokyo. Under the law, any individual or group in these districts who pays protection money to anti-social forces — crime syndicates, ...
With the number of foreign tourists to Japan increasing by the year, authorities are warning visitors to steer clear of so-called rip-off bars. Such establishments have been a problem for a number of years but police are no closer to being able to shut them ...
The second ticket lottery for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics closed on Aug. 19 for an estimated 4.16 million residents of Japan who came up empty-handed in the initial draw. The results are expected to be announced on Sept. 11 for an additional 700,000 or so ...
Police have described the torching of Kyoto Animation, which killed 35 people, as the worst case of arson in postwar Japan. Given the shocking details of the attack that have emerged since July 18, it's certainly not hard to believe. For me, the fire brought ...
