The latest limelight and upcoming events info

A new interview with Jake Adelstein is up on World Policy Institute focusing on the recent yakuza crackdown, but also touching on some interesting recent topics like their popularity in pop culture, and current political ties. What had prevented the government from cracking down on yakuza before? Japan doesn’t have a RICO act. It has limited wire-tapping. There is no plea-bargaining allowed. There is no witness protection or witness relocation program. There is no incentive... Read More

Habakarinagara: An interview with Tadamasa Goto

Perhaps to promote his new book, Habakarinagara (憚りながら）, Tadamasa Goto has been looking for some time in the limelight, apparently granting this interview on Yomiuri TV’s Takashin no Sokomade Itte Iinkai program. Edit: YouTube appears to have taken down the videos. The link below for Part 1 should work, Part 2 seems to have been lost. (Parts 1 and 2) The interview runs as follows: -Why did you quit the Yamaguchi-gumi? The time had come, and I took my chance. -Why... Read More

NPA statistics looking good for Kodo-kai crackdown efforts

If numbers mean anything, then the National Police Agency’s crackdown on the Yamaguchi-gumi Kodo-kai led by director Takaharu Ando has been something of a success. The NPA released arrest figures for the first half of this year on Aug 19, revealing a large jump in arrests of Kodo-kai members despite overall numbers of gang arrests dropping 0.1 percent. According to the reports, in the period between January and June, 12,588 people were arrested for 23,403 offenses involving... Read More

Teacher arrested for assaulting drugged teen

A Sendai teacher at a private high school who was arrested on August 11 for giving sleeping pills to an underage girl and molesting her told police he committed the crime because he “gave into temptation.” According to reports, on the afternoon of August 4, the 53-year-old man gave a girl in her late teens two to three sleeping pills, taking off her clothing and molesting her once they had effect. The victim awoke in the middle of the assault and ran, reporting the... Read More

Yakuza Review The Sega Video Game "Yakuza 3"

The Yakuza video game series from Sega has been tremendously popular in the United States and in Japan but what do the yakuza themselves think of the game? I asked. It took forever to finally finish this piece but thanks to great patience amongst some underworld acquaintances and the magical editing ability of @tokyomango aka  Lisa Katayama, the article made its appearance today on BoingBoing. Our honorable yakuza hero wondering the virtual streets of Kabukicho The game itself... Read More

Divvying up the booty from the Susumu Kajiyama loansharking case

Tokyo District Court on Thursday began the necessary procedures to divide up nearly 2.38 billion yen in damages to those caught up in a 2003 international money laundering scheme run by the “emperor of loansharks,” Susumu Kajiyama. Out of the 6,887 victims of the scheme, 5,490 have been deemed eligible to receive a portion of the 2.4 billion yen that will be divided up. According to Sankei News, the money to be returned is just around 15% of the 16.11 billion yen in... Read More

High school girl accepts ¥1,000 for sex

A Saitama man was arrested August 4 under violation of child prostitution laws for paying a 16-year-old high school girl for sexual favors in a hotel room in Tokyo’s Hachioji city on March 23. The pair had reportedly met on an Internet community site about a year and a half ago, and mutually agreed to the transaction. The man, a 23-year-old construction worker from Konosu city, testified that he had met the girl for sex seven or eight times in the past, paying between 1000... Read More

Jake Adelstein interview with 3:AM Magazine

More than just the typical Tokyo Vice Q&A, an interview with Jake was recently posted on 3:AM Magazine covering the yakuza reaction to the book, the crackdown in Kabukicho, and Jake’s literary influences. If I wrote a novel, it would probably only be to thinly disguise a true-story that had too much potential blowback to write as non-fiction. I tried to write the book as if I was talking to an old friend at a bar, and we were catching up. If you sit around with me long... Read More

Yamaguchi-gumi members arrested in sumo scandal! But how far can the cops go?

We’re stil gathering details here, but three yakuza (Yamaguchi-gumi members) and a former sumo wrestler were arrested yesterday for extortion involving the baseball betting scandal. The Yamaguchi-gumi is Japan’s largest crime syndicate. The three are suspected of extorting millions of yen in hush money from a former sumo wrestler who brokered the illegal bets on baseball (and other events) within the sumo world. All three yakuza deny the charges. They are also suspected... Read More