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
Nonaffiliated gangs seek to exploit vacuum left by the yakuza’s declining influence
Violent gangs are starting to make their presence felt in western Japan, with incidents of armed robbery and violent crime clearly on the rise.
Crime syndicate puts brakes on fraudulent activities during pandemic
Gang leadership says it's wrong to “rob (elderly) individuals of the money they need to live.”
The authorities said their reasoning was that most such people are members of anti-social organizations such as organized crime syndicates.
Rats, bugs, crooks and trucks share media spotlight amid pandemic
With city dwellers around the world in lockdown, increasing reports have surfaced about wild animals infiltrating urban areas. Tokyo is no exception, although "wild" isn’t quite appropriate in this case. As a sanitation worker in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward relates to Shukan Gendai (May 16), "From ...
Fukuoka aimed for the top in taking down Kudokai yakuza group
Arrest of a leader essentially put an end to the many crimes the syndicate had been suspected of being involved in since the late 1990s.
Japan's gangs find themselves in a losing battle to mark territory
Carrying a business card bearing a gang crest is "effectively a license to collect cash,” a former gang member says. “Without the crest, it’s just a sheet of paper.”
Counting the cost of postponing the Tokyo Olympics
Nearly a month before the decision was announced to postpone the 2020 Olympics, the media was already speculating over their fate. On Feb. 24, the headline in Nikkan Gendai read, “Relinquishing of the Tokyo Olympics would mean ¥20 trillion in economic losses.” Noting that a ...
The total membership of yakuza crime syndicates in Japan decreased for the 15th straight year to hit a record low in 2019, the National Police Agency said Thursday. The total, including associates, came to 28,200 as of the end of 2019, down 2,300 from a ...
'First Love': A heartfelt throwback to the golden age of yakuza flicks
Masataka Kubota plays a doomed boxer who takes on the yazuka in Takashi Miike's newest film.
Man held for allegedly shooting at home belonging to deputy leader of Japan's largest yakuza group
Police on Sunday arrested a man for allegedly firing several shots with a handgun at a home belonging to the second-in-command of the Yamaguchi-gumi, the nation's largest yakuza group, in Kuwana, Mie Prefecture. No injuries were reported in the shooting. The man — believed to be ...
What's in a name? For the yakuza, quite a lot
The Yamaguchi-gumi is one of the most feared crime syndicates in Japan and yet its name may become a relic of the past in 2020 if recent reports are to be believed. In terms of size, the Kobe-based Yamaguchi-gumi is already on the wane. The ...
