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, among others — faces up to a year in jail and/or a fine of ¥50,000. It's now officially a crime to pay off crime syndicates and police are promising that punishment will be swift.
"The primary objective of the new rules isn't to punish people who give money to the yakuza, it's to make it easier for merchants to refuse to make those payments," a detective who has dealt with organized crime for 20 years told me on condition of anonymity. "They now have a very good excuse."