Construction companies begin to lay yakuza-free foundations
For those who don’t keep up with the Japan Times, Brett Bull has a great article up about efforts within the construction industry to drive out yakuza groups, focusing on…
Hiroshima councilman arrested for using yakuza as threat
One member of a city council in Hiroshima prefecture was arrested with three others September 21 for threatening a local man over troubles involving a woman back in May. The…
Taito residents move to block Kodo-kai invasion
Residents in a Taito-ku neighborhood will launch an anti-organized crime community group October 3 as a reaction to the recent move of a Kodo-kai front company from the wealthy Azabu-juban…
Man 'couldn't refuse' when asked by crush for child porn
A 38-year-old Kanagawa man was arrested September 24 under suspicion of loaning out to an acquaintance four CDs containing pornographic images of young boys. According to police, the disks contained…
Singing cops throw away retirement plans to serenade fellow seniors
From the sugary sweet yet sexy AKB48 to… retired cops?! Yasushi Akimoto, the producer and director famous for pandering to the desires of millions of 40s and 50s-ish salarymen in…
Playing the yakuza puppet master in "The Yakuza Diaries"
For all those who spent hours as a child delightfully flipping to page 28, back to page 11, then on to page 19 to discover their fate in the popular…
Everything I Ever Needed To Know I Learned From the Yakuza or the Cops That Arrest Them #3: If you love your family, don't shoot yourself to death
A few weeks ago, a yakuza boss who I only knew vaguely shot himself to death. He was badly in debt and facing charges of extortion. I’m sure he was…
"Mister Vice Guy" (if you can guess who that is) interviewed in Australian Penthouse
In one of his classiest interviews yet, Jake lets loose in Australian Penthouse magazine to inquiries on regrets, working as a hostess, sumo, and just how hard it was to…
Eikaiwa Underworld: Lessons Taught, Lessons Learned
By Jason Gray Early 2004. When teaching conversational English, at least in Japan, fascinating students are a rarity. This isn’t necessarily because there aren’t interesting people who want to learn…
Upcoming Event: Polaris Project seminar
Jake will be giving a talk about the law-enforcement side of fighting human trafficking at Polaris Project’s monthly seminar series, “You Know Human Trafficking?” Date: Saturday, September 25 from 7-9pm…