Japan’s Yakuza – still alive, and yes, they do matter
| Published date | 07 October 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-12-2018-0138 |
| Pages | 938-950 |
| Date | 07 October 2019 |
| Author | Grant Frederick Newsham |
Japan’s Yakuza –still alive, and
yes, they do matter
Grant Frederick Newsham
Japan Forum for Strategic Studies, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to informthe reader of the nature of Japanese organize crime (“the Yakuza”)and
the extent to which it has penetrated and is a powerful force in nearly all facets of Japanese society –with
particular focus on the “legitimate”business and financial worlds. The paper also describes in detail the
actual harmful effects of Yakuzainfluence and also provides a cautionary note for foreign businessventures
in Japan.
Design/methodology/approach –The paper offers an in-depth narrative description based on the
author’s over20 years’experience researching the topic along with practicalexperience gained while working
in the business risk mitigation field in Japan and assisting private entities in avoiding underworld
entanglements.
Findings –The paper demonstrates how the Yakuzaremains a potent force with widespread influence in
Japan, despite the government’s enactment of specific regulations designed to pressure underworld
organizations.
Research limitations/implications –The paper offers insightsinto an aspect of Japanese society that
receives limited examination, and the information contained in the article is potentially useful to other
scholars and the foreign business community as well. The Yakuza are a broad topic, and the author’s
perspectives are necessarilyfocused on cases of Yakuza involvement in the legitimate economy and political
world ratherthan the entire panoply of underworld activity.
Practical implications –The insights and descriptions of underworldinvolvement in “legitimate”parts
of Japanese society might encourageJapanese authorities to assess why the Yakuza remain entrenched and
take appropriatecounter measures.
Social implications –The paper is potentiallyof use to foreign business and governmental organizations
in better understanding and countering risksand threats posed by the Japanese underworld, both in Japan
and beyond its borders.
Originality/value –This topic is infrequently covered in any depth in English language sources and
seldom if ever by someone with over two decades of practical experience identifying and helping private
entitiesnavigate around Yakuza dangers.
Keywords Japan, Finance, Politics, Boryokudan, Yakuza
Paper type General review
Introduction
In recent years, foreign reporters in Tokyo have written about the decline and eventual
fading away of Japanese organized crime –the Yakuza –owing to the passageof new anti-
Yakuza regulations. These rules prohibiting all dealings providing financial benefitto
organized crime have inconvenienced some gangsters at the bottom of the Yakuza
“pyramid”and reduced the numbers of formalYakuza members. But, organized crime writ
large remains well entrenchedin Japan, as many Yakuza have simply “gone underground”–
and it is a serious problem.
Admittedly, “serious”means different things to different people. Yet if one considers
Japan’s well-funded underworld groups operating largely unchecked in the nation’s
economy and financial world –and how Yakuzafinancial resources have strengthened their
JFC
26,4
938
Journalof Financial Crime
Vol.26 No. 4, 2019
pp. 938-950
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1359-0790
DOI 10.1108/JFC-12-2018-0138
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