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Yakuza in
How do the yakuza play a significant role
in Japanese society, by affecting politics,
daily life, policing, and the law, while
maintaining a public face?
GlobalStudies
ABSTRACT:
Japan has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, but is home to
debatably the most dominant organized crime gang, of all time. The
Japanese yakuza gang is said to have been around since the 18th
Century. Like all countries, organized crime is a part of the social
structure, but for Japan, the yakuza bring the gang culture to a whole
other level. In this study, I examine the role of the yakuza in modern day
Japan, and how they play an active role in shaping modern life and
society. I have examined how the yakuza obtain dominant roles in
mainly politics, the law, and policing. I will also incorporate how the
yakuza are seen amongst society. Through my analysis, I stand upon the
outlook that the yakuza gang is far too embedded in society to ever fully
be dismantled, because of their lack of desire to remain out of the
public eye.
Biography :
One of my friends, while abroad, had a very small tattoo on her wrist
of her Japanese Mother’s maiden name. While out one night, we met a
local Japanese couple. My friend, with the ability to speak fluent
Japanese, began to tell the couple that her grandparents were from
Yokohama, Japan. As she was speaking the man gasped and pointed to
her tattoo, the size of a pea. He said (in Japanese, I later had to get the
translation), “wow, I’m so surprised your Japanese mother let you get
that tattoo.” She replied back, “it’s not yakuza.” The man replied, still
clearly surprised, “yes, but still.” This interaction made me curious. What
was yakuza? Why did such a small tattoo matter enough to make a
comment about it?
The question isn’t what, but rather, who are the yakuza? The yakuza is, to
put it briefly, an extremely large criminal network in Japan. Yamaguchi-
gumi is the biggest yakuza family. Traditional activities of yakuza lie in
the area of illegal gambling. The term “yakuza,” originally referenced the
worst possible hand to have in a card game (Rank, M. 2014). Yakuza
dabble in drugs, prostitution, firearms, and importation, and
exploitation of illegal male and female sex workers. Yakuza have gone
from controlling traditional gambling and peddling, to their modern
front in legal and illegal enterprises such as drug trades, money
laundering schemes, and corporate fraud (Hill, P. 2003). They have
become so powerful that they appear to span nearly every aspect of
Japan’s economy. Although the yakuza perform countless illegal actions,
there is a belief that the cooperation between the criminal world, and the
formal social control agencies contribute to Japan’s low crime rates, than
is generally lead on. After the second World War, organized crime in
Japan took a main presence. Those joining the yakuza were returning,
disenfranchised soldiers, and Korean-Japanese, who had been brought
to Japan as slave laborers. All these people were pushed aside in
Japanese society, and labeled as outcasts. The United States had
declared the Japanese-Korean slave laborers as third-party nationals, so
the Japanese police were unable to arrest them. Yakuza took over the
black market and underworld. They in time, received police approval,
and functioned as a second police force, still dabbling in the black market
but keeping peace simultaneously, but using scare tactics to keep crime
low. The war on the yakuza, by the Japanese government, began in 1963,
but has been overwhelmingly unsuccessful (Global vice: The expanding
territory of the yakuza: An interview with Jake Adelstein 2012:66(1), 155-
161).
From: The Asia- Pacific Journal, “21st-Century Yakuza: Recent Trends in Organized
Crime in Japan.” This chart exemplifies what crimes the yakuza have committed.
At first, I was confused. The most known fact about Japan, is that it’s
highly a peaceful country, with a crime rate that is close to nonexistent. I
want to point out that although this topic may highlight one of the more
negative aspects of Japanese culture, it is still the most beautiful place
with the kindest people I have ever met.
Through this study, I learned about yakuza organized crime, and how it
differs from everywhere else in the world. What I will be answering is:
How do the yakuza play a significant role in Japanese society by affecting
politics, daily life, policing, and the law, while maintaining a public face?
YAKUZA’S PUBLIC FACE
This is comparing the Italian Us Mafia to the most recent numbers of the “main
yakuza” In past years there were 110,000 active members of the total know yakuza, not
just the main full time members, divided in 25 hundred families as of 2 years ago. In
America, 2 years ago, only 20,000 organized crime members were in total, and the US
has twice the population that Japan does. As of 2015, Japan has 10x the mafia density
than in America, just by using the Yakuza as reference (Rank, M).
YAKUZA IN MODERN CULTURE
The citizens in modern Japan are aware of the heavy organized crime
appearance, within their society. The yakuza, although the most popular
organized crime organization within Japan, is not the only one. Yakuza is
the most well known gang in Japan, but there are also youth groupings,
and the Bosokozu, usually identifiable by their motorcycles or
customized cars (Kersten, J. 1993:39(3), 277-295). Surprisingly many
people in society don't mind the presence of yakuza, because of their
charitable work. Although they give back to society, it doesn't cover up
the illegal activity they are known for.
Due to yakuza’s openness, the common people of Japan know very well
what the yakuza tattoos look like. It’s hard for most people in society not
acknowledge the yakuza in relationship to tattoos. Yakuza, in modern
times are the criminal component of Japan, and probably always will be.
Tattooing and yubitsume are the two most well-known yakuza practices
by society.
https://youtu.be/M_b5jZG6JtQ This is a traditional
Japanese Yakuza ceremony. Yamaguchi-gumi is the strongest yakuza
organization among every single yakuzas. The succession ceremony of 6th
godfather is what is being captured in this video. The yakuza release clips from
ceremonies to show their dominance to other members of the underworld and to
society. This is a prime example of Yakuza keeping a high profile.
The yakuza are also able to establish a negative image amongst the
business world in Japan. Commonly, A public act of bribery, in which
they will buy a large amount of stock from a business, just enough for
them to get them into the shareholders meeting (Rank, M. 2014). Once
in the meeting, the yakuza will try and find, or even create fake claims on
the company. They then precede to tell the company owner that if the
company fails to pay them a large sum of money, they will the fake
knowledge they have gathered at the next share holder meeting. The
company always complies to avoid being shamed in front of the other
partners. For all of history, shame is the most awful thing have thrust
upon yourself in Japanese culture. On the other hand, some legitimate
sectors of Japanese society, such as large companies, have encouraged or
condoned yakuza as their instruments, using them for intimidation.
POLITICS
VICE. Interview with Masaya Kudo.
VICE TV is a very popular TV news network, with broadcasts worldwide.
Upon doing my research I took to YouTube.com to hopefully find some
interviews or footage of the Yakuza in daily life. While searching I found
a very interesting and informative piece from VICE. This video clip
identified the Yakuza’s political power through the lenses of right wing
parties. It was made to be informative of the role yakuza play in politics
and was created in 2015. It shows how yakuza is still present in modern
times, despite being created in the 18th century. It includes news
coverage of the right winged party, Nihon-no-Kai, led by Masaya Kudo.
All of the footage is in Japanese, but is accompanied by subtitles. The
language used is direct and ultimately bias only showing the side of
Kudo. It follows right wing members in their daily lives, using slang
amongst each other in meetings, but it overall captures the intensity in
which right winged Japanese parties and yakuza function.
Kudo and his party are seen protesting in front of the Chinese, Korean,
and Russian embassies demanding ownership of their “invaded lands”,
such as Senkaku and KurilI. Their common form of protesting is
demonstrated by driving their vans around the embassies and using
microphones to say, “Drive them out!” This showcases their extreme
Japanese nationalism. It is known that yakuza pride themselves in
Japanese nationalism and tradition.
One thing the video left out is an outside perspective from Kudo. I’m
assuming an opposing view was left out due to the main point of the
video, being yakuza and their connection to the Right Wing. Kudo’s party
isn’t a subgroup of the yakuza and he claims that they don’t take part in
any of the yakuza activities, so hypothetically they shouldn’t have to have
any interaction with the yakuza. Kudo admits though that in reality
they’d never get away without asking permission from yakuza. The
yakuza are constantly looking after their territory. Nihon No Kai still pay
their respects and tell yakuza what they plan on doing. After informing
the yakuza, yakuza can grant them permission to proceed, but they must
protest according to their instructions.
The video opens with Kudo, and continuously flashes back to Kudo
under the tattoo gun. Tattoos are so often linked to being symbols and a
direct line to the yakuza, so it is interesting that they used those scenes of
being inked so commonly. These tattoo scenes may be a way of VICE
leading the audience to believe Kudo and Nihon No Kai may be more
yakuza then they lead on. It also serves as another way to link right wing
parties and politics to the yakuza. Kudo talks about his full body of
tattoos saying that they’re all Japanese art.
Ultimately, if right wing parties choose not to work with the Japanese
yakuza they will be disassembled. I think the reason why Kudo did this
video was to show that the right wingers, in his eyes, are normal people
with nationalistic political agendas. They don’t do anything illegal and
they aren’t the yakuza.
The link between yakuza and right-wing organizations, along with their
supposed link to politicians, is at the core of the responsibility for the
influence and the involvement of organized crime members in politics.
POLICING
Recently, the police have used a of contract laws, civil laws, ordinances,
and criminal laws to arrest the yakuza more frequently. Additionally,
many banks, auto-dealers, and real-estate agencies have organized crime
exclusionary ordinances within their contracts. The police are making
things increasingly more difficult for yakuza. If a yakuza member even
tries to sign up for a credit card he has to check a box that says, “I’m not
a member of an organized crime group”. If he signs this, that’s fraud
(Global vice: The expanding territory of the yakuza: An interview with
Jake Adelstein 2012:66(1), 155-161).
In modern society, one can share information from the yakuza with the
police, but information one gets from the police can never be shared to
the yakuza. The reason for this aids in my argument of the yakuza public
face. The reason why yakuza want to share information with a reporter
even if they go to the police, is because they use information as a way to
hurt a rival gang. They even use this tactic to stop acts of fellow yakuza
branches. Yakuza still follow some level of an ethics code. If a branch of
yakuza is acting in child pornography or something of that sort, another
branch of yakuza that still stands by their traditional code will go against
a modern crime as such, and tell the media. There is a very low rate of
individual crime in Japan, almost all of it is organized. The yakuza can be
seen acting as a local boys and girls club for young misfits and school
dropouts, bringing them in and making them members.
Daily life activity for the citizens who work at a fish market.
The yakuza are able to eliminate a large amount of drug related crime
because of their tight, and long-standing control, of Japan’s illegal drug
market. Since the Yakuza families control most of the movement of
drugs, this creates an overall better situation. The drug trade is so
condensed by yakuza, that it removes the drug dealing from the streets.
Japan arrested 17 people for drug related crime in 2006. Just the
presence of the yakuza deters small scale crime. In 1990, Japanese police
officers were able to seize less than 70 kg of cocaine. In the US, the
amount of seized cocaine was 55 tons (Kersten, J. 1993:39(3), 277-295).
If one compares the Japanese drug crime situation to that of other
industrialized countries, it seems whatever the police are doing is
working, or maybe rather what the yakuza are doing.
The police force in Japan has been growing through the years, even
though the crime rate has been falling. To counter the claim of the
yakuza being the ones to rid crime from the streets, maybe there has
been a concentration of arrest for small crimes, because there are too
many police officers for too little crime in Japan. The possession of a
small amount of drugs, such as marijuana, is all it takes for police focus
to be centered upon you (The Economist 2017).
The police in Japan are inefficient. Within the small bracket of crime, the
police solve less than 30% of cases they receive (The Economist 2017).
The people of Japan and organized crime police themselves. Yakuza
know to be strategic with their underground work.
The yakuza are lawful criminals. they use their visibility to aid the state
and reap major benefits, ingraining them into the social ranked state.
Yakuza are channeling their efforts differently in the modern era. They
are putting less pressure on the commission of violent offenses, and the
provision of illegal services such as gambling, drugs, prostitution, to
control now legitimate businesses such as construction companies,
restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and finance companies.
Yakuza exclusion ordinances are local laws that aim to diminish the
citizen to yakuza relationship, rather than the police vs the yakuza
relationship. Citizens are prohibited from making relations with the
yakuza. Punishments range through public exposure for companies to
bring them shame, a fine, or even imprisonment, but the range of
punishment isn’t very clear. All Japan’s prefecture’s follow this
ordinance as of 2011, including Tokyo. This is a ploy mostly to eliminate
acts that can be regarded as a payoff that assists the yakuza’s operation,
and any sort of close association with the yakuza. It is noted that the set
punishments remain somewhat unclear, even for the authorities. There
has been some suggestion that these ordinances violate freedom of
expression (Global vice: The expanding territory of the yakuza: An
interview with Jake Adelstein 2012:66(1), 155-161).
The Yakuza have the standardization that doesn’t exist in any other
mafia or organized crime group around the world. In 2009, during a
crackdown on crime, one branch of the yakuza created a 12-page exam
for its members. This was a tactical and strategic attempt to keep their
members from getting in trouble with the law. This branch of yakuza
decided this would be effective by showing the government that they
were aware of the law, and working through legal channels. This wasn’t
advertised to the public, but rather used as a way to mock the police
actions against them (Rank, M 2014).
CONCLUSION
and Significance
The yakuza with their public face continue to play a significant role in
Japanese legal spheres of society. They affect politics, daily civil life, the
law, and policing. Yakuza’s visibility as a strength, and their ability to
infiltrate and be unstopped by the legal sphere, is what puts the yakuza
aside from any other organized crime group. It doesn’t seem feasible at
any point in the future for yakuza to be entirely disabled. Even the bosses
of the yakuza are viewed as celebrities amongst society. Bosses
sometimes grant interviews to publications and television, something the
American Italian Mafia would never do. Politicians have been seen
having dinner with assumed yakuza leaders. Politicians are suppose to
defend the law, and yet they meet with the yakuza. Due to the major
advantage the yakuza have, being that they are divided into multiple
families with long dynasties, dispersed around the country, the police
cannot monitor all of their activity. From having a presence in politics,
economics, and real estate to name a few, the yakuza are common
knowledge for the Japanese people. Yakuza don’t plague Japan, never
harming citizens. “Katagi nimeiwaku wokakenai,” which translates into,
“not causing ordinary citizens trouble,” is an important value for that
yakuza (Global vice: The expanding territory of the yakuza: An interview
with Jake Adelstein 2012:66(1), 155-161). Violating this noble way results
in expulsion from the yakuza and ultimate shame. The yakuza take note
of the communities around them, again being very strategic. If people in
the community don’t feel secure around areas where the yakuza are
doing business, including sex shops, illegal gambling parlors, strip and
hostess clubs, the yakuza know they will lose money. Yakuza are not just
tattooed makers, trying to cut off everyones fingers, while in disguise
with suits. The yakuza are normal citizens with illegal agendas.