10 Shocking Facts About Japan’s Yakuza Mafia

Mafia is an international phenomenon. But in each country it has features that are incomparable and incomparable with other criminal gangs.

The Asian mafia has always been very different from the European or, for example, from the American one, both in deep historical roots and in strange traditions and customs.

Everyone has probably heard the word “yakuza”, but few people know what this criminal organization really is, and how great influence it has in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Meanwhile, it is believed that the laws, customs and structure of the yakuza originated in the XNUMXth century, and its origins were two gangs: “tekiya” (which was engaged in petty theft, fraud and trade in low-quality goods) and “bakuto” ​​(which had “fat” ” from gambling).

The term “yakuza” itself came from the players of the bakuto gang, and it means the most losing combination in the traditional Japanese card game oycho-kabu (“I”, “ku”, “dza” – 8, 9, 3).

Bakuto were considered outcasts and losers, so the word “yakuza” at first meant “useless thing” or “useless person”, but later it spread to all Japanese criminal organizations.

(True, the modern Japanese police and the media call them differently – “boryokudan”, which means “power groups”, and the yakuza members themselves call themselves “ninkyo dantai” – “knight’s organization”).

Let’s try to find out something curious (and sometimes shocking) about this famous organization of Japanese bandits.

10 Yakuza is technically legal

Yes, this is true – the yakuza operates in Japan quite openly. You can easily find the headquarters of this organization in large cities – special signs with an identification mark hang on their doors.

The Yakuza legally operates business networks in many industries, from construction to the porn industry. Moreover, she has been involved in Japanese politics for quite a long time.

Public scandals due to the connections of leading politicians (including ministers) with the mafia occur regularly in this country, but rarely lead not only to resignations, but even to a deterioration in the further political career of their defendants.

The Yakuza has been openly sponsoring the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party of Japan for many years (largely thanks to this, the LDP has ruled the country since 1955 almost without interruption), agitating the population before the elections for the “necessary” candidates, etc. In general, the Japanese have long perceived the yakuza as part of their national culture.

9. This is the largest mafia in the world

At the moment, the yakuza has more than 100 thousand full members (not counting the small “servants” and young men – “candidates for entry”). Of these, about 58 thousand operate in Japan itself, the rest are outside the country.

However, in the late 1960s. there were about 184 thousand people in the yakuza, but in the following decades their number began to fall rapidly, in 2016 reaching the lowest figure in recent history – only 39 thousand yakuza inside Japan.

These ups and downs, of course, are directly related to both political and economic circumstances (for example, the government of the country still tries from time to time to limit the fabulous income of the mafia by adopting certain laws that make it difficult to “work”).

But in the same 2016, the Japanese authorities legalized gambling, and the number of yakuza began to grow again, since gambling establishments are a real “gold mine” for bandits.

In addition, the yakuza is also one of the richest mafias. Thus, the state of only one of the largest Yamaguchi-gumi clan is approximately 80 billion dollars.

8. Yakuza have bases in America

As we mentioned above, the activities of the yakuza are not limited to Japan. It expands not only to neighboring Asian countries, but also to the United States.

So, it is absolutely known that the yakuza is operating in Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York and other cities. But the main base of the Japanese mafia is in Hawaii, which is used as a “transfer station” for smuggling drugs into the US and smuggling weapons in the opposite direction.

The Obama administration even had to freeze the banking assets of the Yamaguchi-gumi clan in America and impose sanctions on several of its leaders.

7. Yakuza tattoos are done by hand

One of the most visually distinguishable features of the yakuza is the intricate colored tattoo all over the body. Such tattoos (the main motifs of which are dragons, mountains and women) occupy almost the entire space of the skin, except for the hands, feet and a clean strip from the neck to the stomach, so that you can unbutton the shirt.

Because of this “body painting”, the yakuza usually wear closed clothes, since the rest of the Japanese do not like such “decorations”, to put it mildly.

Irezumi tattoos are traditionally made using metal or bamboo needles. Although electric tools are not expressly forbidden, they are undesirable: since a large and complex tattoo is very painful and takes a long time to make, its presence means that you have a courageous person who can endure severe pain for many hours.

True, in recent years, members of the yakuza have begun to gradually abandon this long tradition. The laws are becoming stricter, and the attitude towards bandits in society is becoming more and more intolerant, and with such “special signs” all over the body, of course, it is very difficult to get lost in the crowd or at least temporarily “lay low”.

By the way, yakuza wives (who usually do not play any role in their business, stay at home and raise children) also make irezumi – as a sign of devotion to their husbands.

6. Yakuza members cut off parts of their fingers

Another long tradition of the yakuza is yubitsume, which is the cutting off of part of the fingers after committing some serious misconduct or mistake.

The offending yakuza must personally cut off the phalanx on his ring finger or little finger and present it to the boss. If the boss accepted this “gift”, then the subordinate is forgiven. If not, the yakuza may even face the death penalty.

And this practice originated from an ancient punishment that players who did not pay card debts were subjected to. Without several fingers, a person not only experienced everyday inconvenience, but also could not hold a sword normally, which made him vulnerable.

In the case of the yakuza, after yubitsume, the bandit becomes more dependent on other members of the group and reduces his own activities.

In 1993, a government investigation revealed that more than 45% of yakuza had ever “shortened” one finger, and 15% had done it repeatedly. And since this is also a great “special sign”, in recent years, yubitsume as a phenomenon has become increasingly rare.

By the way, another interesting fact: when the British cartoon “Bob the Builder” was shown in Japan, the main character, who had 4 fingers, was added a fifth one so that the children would not mistake him for a yakuza.

5. Yakuza come up with a unique form of extortion

Sokaya is a special type of large-scale blackmail, “invented” by the yakuza. And everything happens like this: the mafiosi buy the shares of some large enterprise in the amount necessary to get into the board of shareholders (by the way, the shares can simply be bought cheaply from other holders through elementary intimidation).

Then the yakuza collect the maximum amount of compromising material on the entire management of the company and start “bidding” with it in the style of “Either you pay us such and such an amount, or we tell at the shareholders’ meeting that …” And, since the Japanese are more than anything else afraid “lose face”, then this blackmail often works.

By 1982, sokaiya had become so common that the government passed a law against paying yakuza for blackmail, but it didn’t help much…

4. One of the heads of the Yakuza clan turned out to be an FBI informant

The longtime head of the Goto-gumi clan, Tadamasa Goto, is one of the most legendary oyabuns (“heads of the family”) of the yakuza. Having started his “career” in 1972 as an “errand boy”, he managed not only to live to old age, but also to become one of the most influential and successful yakuza, and besides, “get out of the water”, hitting some very ugly stories.

So, in 2001, it accidentally turned out that for several years in a row, without a twinge of conscience, he “leaked” his allies from other clans to the FBI (having disrupted, among other things, a number of large profitable deals).

What for? And for the FBI to help him and his three yakuza close associates organize liver transplant operations in the United States (in Japan they had problems with this due to the strictness of paperwork for such medical procedures, and Goto was banned from entering the United States long before ).

The fact is that serious liver problems are literally an “occupational disease” of the yakuza (both due to lifestyle and tattoos that disrupt sweating and block the removal of toxins through the skin).

The most surprising thing is that after such an exposure, Goto not only did not suffer any punishment, but also remained the head of his clan until 2008! In 2008, he took the rank of a Buddhist priest, but in 2010 he was charged with murder (having given $ 1,5 million to the relatives of the murdered man, Goto got out again).

Moreover, shortly after that, the former oyabun also published an autobiography in which he revealed many “non-public” aspects of the life of the yakuza.

3. To become a member of the Yamaguchi-gumi, one must pass the “entrance examination”

We have already said that the Yamaguchi-gumi is the largest yakuza clan (there are 22 of them now). According to various sources, it consists of 25 to 45% of the total number of yakuza.

So: since 2009, in order to get into the clan, you need to answer the questions of a 12-page “examination” test that determines the practical knowledge and skills of the applicant.

According to the heads of the clan, this “exam” is an attempt to make sure that new members of the yakuza know the laws (which are getting tougher every day), to keep them out of possible trouble and to minimize losses.

By the way, one of the most influential mafia bosses in world history, Kazuo Taoka, nicknamed Kuma (“Bear”), became the leader of the Yamaguchi-gumi.

Taoka ruled the clan for 35 years (from 1946 to 1981), going from a homeless boy from a small village to a powerful oyabun. He had a real talent for managing people, remarkable organizational skills and an unyielding will, and therefore turned back such money that he was called the “boss of bosses.”

Taoka died of a heart attack in 1981, and another Yamaguchi-gumi leader was to take his place, but he also died (from liver problems).

And then the widow of Taoka, Fumiko, took over the leadership of the clan. This was the first time in history that the yakuza were subordinate to a woman. In general, there are very few representatives of the weaker sex in their ranks (the yakuza call them “one-san” – “big sister”).

2. They sometimes help their country

It’s hard to believe, but the yakuza have repeatedly come to the aid of residents of different regions of Japan in difficult and dangerous situations (sometimes doing it faster than the country’s government).

So, after the devastating earthquakes in Kobe in 1995 and in Tohoku in 2011 (where the disaster was further aggravated by a powerful tsunami), it was the yakuza who were the first to provide residents with safe havens, helped with the removal of rubble, organized the delivery of free food and water, etc.

Some considered this a sincere impulse (they say, the yakuza, for the most part, come from the lower strata of society, they are outcasts and therefore know what deprivation is).

But most Japanese people have no illusions: firstly, such charity is an excellent PR, after which it will be more difficult for the police to fight the mafia (after all, the population will begin to consider the yakuza to be such “robin hoods” – saviors from troubles); and secondly, immediately after such disasters, the yakuza is actively involved in the struggle for government orders for the restoration of destroyed cities and towns – after all, we remember that it has a whole network of companies in the construction business (mainly, of course, through nominees), and it’s good to “weld” on it.

1. Yakuza will be one of the main beneficiaries at the 2020 Olympics

And one more thing about the yakuza construction business. Do you know that the 2020 Olympics will be held in Tokyo? So: its budget is not less than 50 billion dollars.

And since 2015, joint photos of yakuza bosses and members of the Japanese Olympic Committee have regularly appeared in the Japanese media.

The closer the Olympics, the more obvious the involvement of the mafia in the construction of sports facilities, infrastructure, etc. becomes. That is, the yakuza already receives a considerable income from the Olympics, and it has time (and opportunities) to earn much more.