Average Joe could be collateral damage in war against yakuza

The war against the yakuza was raised a notch higher at the start of the month, but not everyone is happy about it.

Oct. 1 saw the enactment of ordinances by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Okinawa Prefecture aimed at depriving organized crime groups, or bōryokudan, of their sources of income. The hope is that as its revenue runs dry, the mob will eventually be forced to cease operations.

Obviously, the organized crime groups, the targets of the tough new ordinances, aren't happy about all this. But they're not alone. Many law-abiding citizens — mainly the people who run small and midsize companies — are fretting they'll become collateral damage in the latest battle between the police and the mob.