More than 80 percent of business organizations responding to a government survey said they have issued a declaration stating they will no longer provide "sokaiya" corporate extortionists with benefits, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka said Friday.
The survey said that 158 out of 194 major business organizations nationwide issued declarations that, as of March, they will not provide the racketeers money, including subscription fees for sokaiya publications, Muraoka said.
Of the 194 business groups, 116 have already sought police help in severing their affiliates' ties to sokaiya. The survey was conducted as a followup measure to find out whether efforts have been made by major businesses to break off ties with racketeers, after the Cabinet called on the private sector to do so last fall.
The result of the survey was presented to a meeting of business-related ministers Friday morning. Of the 194 business organizations, 136 said their affiliates have created in-house organs to take antisokaiya measures in line with recommendations by the Cabinet, Muraoka said.
The government launched measures against sokaiya last summer in the midst of several payoff scandals involving major financial institutions and leading firms in other industries.