World Dec 2, 2021
Family members of victims have accused authorities of being ineffective and have undertaken their searches in various "extermination camps" despite the dangers it poses.
World / Crime & Legal Nov 28, 2021
Two years ago, thousands of people in Vibo Valentia took to the streets to celebrate a massive police sweep that netted hundreds of alleged mafia members. Progress since then has been slow.
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Sep 25, 2021
The trial of a yakuza boss ends with a death sentence … and a threat
by Mark Schreiber
An ominous warning from a crime boss as he is sentenced gets the Japanese tabloids in a real stir.
National / Crime & Legal Aug 24, 2021
Satoru Nomura, the boss of a group described by public safety officials as the most violent in Japan, was sentenced over four cases of attacks on civilians, including a deadly one.
National / Crime & Legal Feb 16, 2021
Three held over drugs smuggled into Japan in Snow White dwarfs
Authorities arrested a Malaysian national and his daughters after confiscating stimulants weighing about 6kg with an estimated street value of around ¥384 million.
National / Crime & Legal Nov 5, 2020
E-money laundering in Japan nearly tripled in 2019, police say
The 3,913 cases reported by nonbank operators of funds transfer services during the year compare to 1,391 in 2018, according to the National Police Agency
World / Crime & Legal Sep 21, 2020
Major banks processed transactions they suspected were illegal, filings show
by Noam Scheiber and Emily Flitter
The more than 2,100 suspicious activity reports filed by major U.S. and international banks relate to more than $2 trillion of transactions between 1999 and 2017.
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Jul 18, 2020
Overindulging at home and playing the online ratings game amid a pandemic
by Mark Schreiber
One man reportedly left as many as 18 empty wine bottles and four large empty sake bottles out to be recycled each week during the pandemic.
National / Media | DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN Jul 4, 2020
Nonaffiliated gangs seek to exploit vacuum left by the yakuza’s declining influence
by Jake Adelstein
Violent gangs are starting to make their presence felt in western Japan, with incidents of armed robbery and violent crime clearly on the rise.
National / Media | DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN Jun 6, 2020
Crime syndicate puts brakes on fraudulent activities during pandemic
by Jake Adelstein
Gang leadership says it's wrong to “rob (elderly) individuals of the money they need to live.”
National Jun 5, 2020
The authorities said their reasoning was that most such people are members of anti-social organizations such as organized crime syndicates.
Asia Pacific / Crime & Legal May 26, 2020
Death of 'Mr. Big' stirs memories of Singapore's gangland past
by Joe Brock and John Geddie
Early one October morning in 1969, Singapore police officers found the body of a man dumped in a storm drain. He had been stabbed to death, police said, in what became one of the country's most notorious gang killings. After more than 50 years on ...