All Blog Posts Tagged 'Japan' (9)

By David Amoruso

The Japanese Yakuza has always lent itself perfectly for visually stunning movies and anime comics. The broad-shouldered gangsters wearing expensive suits and sporting intimidating looks at any outsider who dares to cross an invisible red line. Yet, it is without their suits that the Yakuza members truly become a visual menace.…

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By Clarence Walker, Investigative Crime Journalist



Intelligent gangsters wanted: Any guys out there ready to work in the underworld?



If so, Japan's organized crime syndicates need immediate assistance. They need extra muscle to run prostitution rings, drug trafficking, collect debts, assassinating rivals and shaking down bar owners. To join this outfit - a candidate might think a blood oath must be taken, as with the La Cosa… Continue

By Hollander (regular poster at the Mobbed Up Forum)

Posted in 2005

Copyright © www.gangstersinc.nl



Sources: The Japan times, Kyodo News, Mainichi Daily News and webpage THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN JAPAN.



The Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest underworld gang has been thrown into chaos and uncertainty following leader Yoshinori Watanabe's announcement late 2004 that he would "take a… Continue

The Japanese Yakuza is one of the more traditional Organized Crime groups. The Yakuza are the main power in Japan and have branched out to other Asian countries, the United States, Canada and parts of Europe. However Japan remains their main stronghold. The Yakuza are active in gambling, drugs, prostitution, construction, weaponsmuggling, extortion, money-laundering and blackmail.



The name "Yakuza" comes from the losing number set of the game oicho-kabu (a version of black jack).…

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By Hollander (regular poster at the Mobbed Up Forum)

First posted in 2002

Copyright © www.gangstersinc.nl

In 2001 there have been a series of incidents amongst Hatsuka-kai yakuza, most notably the shooting of two Sumiyoshi-kai executives by Inagawa-kai members at a funeral in Tokyo. The Hatsuka-kai is an association promoting good inter-group relations between the major…

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By Hollander (a poster to the Gangsters Inc. Mobbed Up forum)

Posted on August 10, 2008

Copyright © www.gangstersinc.nl



Japanese gangster Kakuji 'Seijo' Inagawa was best known for founding a notorious yakuza syndicate based in the Tokyo-Yokohama region. The Inagawa-kai has around 9,500 members, divided into over 300 gangs, and thousands of associates. It was one of the first yakuza groups to expand its operations to outside of… Continue

By Hollander (Poster to the Mobbed Up forum)

Posted on February 27, 2007

Copyright © www.gangstersinc.nl



In July 2005 Watanabe was effectively dismissed from his position and replaced by Kenichi Shinoda as the sixth-generation boss (kumicho) of the Yamaguchi-gumi.



Kenichi Shinoda, in yakuza circles known as Shinobu Tsukasa, was born January 25, 1942. He is a more aggressive and… Continue

By Hollander (poster to the Mobbed Up forum)

Posted on February 22, 2007

Copyright © www.gangstersinc.nl



The Korean yakuza are a powerful presence in Japan, despite the fact that Koreans suffer discrimination in Japanese society. Although Japanese-born people of Korean ancestry are a significant segment of the Japanese population, they are still considered resident aliens. But Koreans,… Continue

By David Amoruso

Posted in 2001

Copyright © www.gangstersinc.nl



Yoshio Kodama was born in 1911 and grew up in a poor family and spent most of his childhood living with relatives in Korea. At an early age Kodama showed much interest in politics and at age 21 started his own right wing ultra nationalist political group, the main objective of this group was to assassinate the prime minister… Continue