TV Jan 15, 2020
Aoi Okuyama: From Hokkaido to the mean streets of London
by Matthew Hernon
Japanese actor Aoi Okuyama makes her debut in BBC-Netflix yakuza series 'Giri/Haji,' earning acclaim from the British media.
National / Crime & Legal Jan 7, 2020
The public safety commissions in six prefectures designated them Tuesday as “crime syndicates at war” in an effort to weaken them and stop their escalating battles.
National / Media | DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN Jan 4, 2020
The importance of defining organized crime in Japan
by Jake Adelstein
The definition of a crime is a critical part of law enforcement. After all, what constitutes a crime such as theft is fundamental to working out whether or not someone is ultimately guilty of committing the offense. With this in mind, the administration of Prime ...
National / Crime & Legal Nov 28, 2019
A senior member of the nation's largest organized crime syndicate was shot dead Wednesday in Hyogo Prefecture by a man armed with a submachine gun and a handgun amid a possible gang feud, police said. Keiichi Furukawa, 59, a high-ranking yakuza of the Yamaguchi-gumi group, ...
National / Media | DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN Nov 2, 2019
It's illegal to pay gangs ... but that's not the point
by Jake Adelstein
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, ...
National Oct 31, 2019
Fine for poaching glass eels to be raised to ¥30 million in 2023, Fisheries Agency says
The Fisheries Agency plans to raise the maximum fine for illegal fishing of baby Japanese eels, or glass eels, from ¥100,000 to ¥30 million starting in 2023, in a bid to stem a source of funding of organized crime syndicates, agency sources said Wednesday. The ...
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Sep 28, 2019
New generation of quasi-gangsters fly under police radar
by Mark Schreiber
Mainstream media last month broke a long-standing silence they've had concerning the activities of Japan's organized crime groups, which are referred to in official circles as "boryokudan" (violent groups) or, colloquially, as "yakuza." The Mainichi Shimbun (Sept. 15) reported that Kobe's Municipal Board of Education ...
National Sep 28, 2019
Olympic Village subcontractor had ties to yakuza gang, Tokyo police say
A construction company with suspected ties to a yakuza gang participated as a subcontractor in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic athletes village project.
Film / Reviews Sep 25, 2019
'Ninkyo Gakuen': Yakuza comedy fails to make the grade
by James Hadfield
Hisashi Kimura's latest film sees a band of yakuza get involved with a local high school, serving justice and forming bonds along the way
National / Crime & Legal Sep 3, 2019
Fish illegally caught by yakuza sold at Nagasaki sashimi eatery
A restaurant in the city of Nagasaki sold discount sashimi rice bowls using fish caught by an organized crime group's illegal poaching operation, local police said Tuesday. The eatery in front of Nagasaki Station, which recently shut down, was popular among tourists and workers for ...
National / Crime & Legal Aug 22, 2019
Man linked to Yamaguchi-gumi shot in Kobe in apparent yakuza feud
A man affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest crime syndicate, was shot Wednesday in Kobe, apparently in connection with a feud among factions of the group in the city and surrounding areas, police said. The man, believed to be around 50 years old, was seriously ...
National Jul 26, 2019
Five things to know about the scandal enveloping top Japanese comedy agency Yoshimoto Kogyo
by Masumi Koizumi
From one channel to the next, almost every comedy and variety show on Japanese TV features personalities from entertainment powerhouse Yoshimoto Kogyo Co. But recently the company has been rocked by a scandal involving high-profile comedians that is no laughing matter. What began last month ...