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July 05, 2025
 

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ORGANIZED CRIME

A sketch of Shinichi Mitate, a key suspect in a 2012 murder case, created by police investigators imagining his current appearance
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 30, 2024
Tokyo police release new sketches of 2012 nightclub murder suspect
The police are calling for information on the suspect, saying the 2012 murder should not be forgotten.
Two women, suspected of being members of the Pink Panda gang, have been arrested over allegations relating to the theft of pearl pendants from an international jewelry exhibition at the Tokyo Big Sight convention center in January.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 28, 2024
Possible 'Pink Panda' gang members arrested in Japan
The two women are alleged to have stolen six pearl pendants valued at a total of ¥1,865,000 at a jewelry exhibition in Tokyo.
A police officer distributes leaflets on Osaka's revised ordinance to eliminate organized crime groups in the city's Minami entertainment district on July 1.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 28, 2024
Osaka steps up drive to ensure expo and casino resort free of organized crime
The revised ordinance also targets the sex work industry, street solicitation and scouting.
Devices used in a scam center in Manila that has been shut down by police. Scam centers have mushroomed across Southeast Asia, with crime syndicates luring, kidnapping or coercing workers into predatory online activity and raking in billions of dollars.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jul 25, 2024
Raid on Philippine gambling hub unravels elaborate scheme implicating mayor
The scandal has fueled calls for a ban on the online gambling industry over its links to financial scams, kidnapping, prostitution, human trafficking, torture and murder.
A police officer handles money seized during an operation against 'Ndrangheta in this photo taken at an unknown location in Italy on Sept. 6.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 8, 2024
Italy's mafia forgoes extortion, turns to white-collar crime
With extortion rackets falling out of fashion and murders largely frowned upon by the godfathers, Italy's mafia is venturing into white-collar crime.
The National Police Agency coined the term "tokuryū" to classify individuals involved in dark part time jobs and quasi-gangsters, using the words "tokumei" (anonymous) and "ryūdo" (fluid) to reflect their characteristics.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
May 6, 2024
Tokuryū, a new crime menace in Japan, emerges from the shadows
Unlike the yakuza, which have a hierarchical structure and strict codes of conduct, they lack a clear organizational structure and thrive on anonymity.
A police box set up on a road in Bangkok. Thai police have obtained arrest warrants for two Japanese men suspected of being involved in the death of another Japanese man.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 25, 2024
Body parts of Japanese man found in Thailand
Police believe that the man was a member of a fraud organization.
Customs officials at Narita Airport discovered stimulants inside a conveyor belt roller that was shipped from Mexico to Japan in June last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 23, 2024
Six arrested on suspicion of smuggling stimulants
The suspects, including a senior figure in a crime syndicate in Saitama Prefecture, allegedly hid some 15 kilograms of drugs inside a conveyor belt roller.
Sicily and organized crime have been synonymous since at least the 19th century. The island's mafia infiltration is extending beyond violence, manifesting in subtle economic coercion and sophisticated tax evasion schemes.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 23, 2024
Sicily's mafia is expanding its white collar crime
Economic inequality fuels mafia exploitation, with wealthy enclaves thriving while impoverished areas provide fertile ground for criminal activity.
Police officers conduct a special inspection of Shinjuku Ward's Kabukicho in Tokyo in December.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 4, 2024
Japan's police crack down on host clubs
More than 200 administrative penalties have been issued against such establishments nationwide for various violations, National Police Agency says.
Mobile phones seized from an apartment room in Phnom Penh in relation to a special fraud case are shown at a police station in Saitama Prefecture in November.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 22, 2024
Arrests of 'tokuryū' gang members estimated to have topped 10,000
More than 10,000 members of so-called tokuryū criminal groups are believed to have been arrested in Japan in the three years through 2023, a National Police Agency (NPA) survey showed Thursday.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government holds an event in Tokyo in November to increase people's awareness for fraud and 'dark' part-time jobs. Recruitment ads for such jobs formed some 90% of deletion requests made to internet service providers last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 15, 2024
Nearly 3,000 postings for 'dark' part-time jobs removed from internet in 2023
Recruitment ads for such jobs formed the bulk of deletion requests made to Japanese internet service providers last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 12, 2024
Death sentence overturned for Kudokai gang boss
The criminal mastermind remained expressionless and stared directly at the judge as it was announced that the death sentence had been overturned.
Takeshi Ebisawa poses with a rocket launcher during a meeting with an informant and two undercover Danish police officers at a warehouse in Copenhagen, Denmark on Feb. 3, 2021.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 22, 2024
U.S. charges criminal group leader over conspiring to sell nuclear material
Prosecutors allege that Takeshi Ebisawa "brazenly" moved material containing uranium and weapons-grade plutonium from Myanmar.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 1, 2024
Wanted gang member Shigeyuki Kin held by Nagano police
The suspect in a 2020 attempted murder was alone at the time of the arrest and did not resist, admitting to the police that he was indeed the fugitive.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 11, 2023
G7 agrees in Japan to enhance cooperation against organized fraud
Ministers from the bloc agreed that their countries should strengthen support for developing countries from which fraudulent phone calls are made.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 9, 2023
Thieves stole $20 Million via Revolut U.S. payment flaw, FT says
Organized criminals exploited a flaw in Revolut’s payment systems to steal more than $20 million of the fintech’s money, the Financial Times reported.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 27, 2023
Man arrested over fatal shooting in western Tokyo
The victim, who may have been connected to a gang, was apparently shot at least three times and died after escaping from a restaurant where he was initially shot.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 25, 2023
‘Baby Assassins 2 Babies’: Flying fists with a side of social commentary
Yugo Sakamoto channels Quentin Tarantino in comedy style and verbosity in his action film about a pair of bickering hitwomen who find themselves on the outs with their assassins guild.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 8, 2023
Two U.S. citizens kidnapped in Mexico found dead, two others alive
Washington vowed to do everything in its power to ensure justice for the victims, who crossed the border into the crime-plagued city of Matamoros in Tamaulipas state.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Japan to require flight passengers to keep power banks within sight
The transport ministry has announced new regulations requiring flight passengers to keep power banks within sight to mitigate fire risks while on board planes.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

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What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

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