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The Yakuza Thread

Ok, you have me there, I have not heard of Japanese women being forced into prostitution, the vast majority do it with a degree of free will.
 
Ewok, some of the prostitues are also not Japanese, and sometimes they have problems 'seeing' their passports, if you know what I mean. Their stays in the industry are limited to how long they keep their looks and if the Yakuza bosses don't 'get tired' of them.
 
Oh yes, from what I understand, the human traficking problem is a big one, indeed. I read in the Japan Times several years ago a piece about a woman from South America I think it was who was given false promises and misled into coming to Japan only to find that she was now a sex worker, and it was almost impossible to get out of it.

I thought that the yakuza were mostly financial criminals and into prostitution and gambling these days, and less "on the streets" so to speak. Although I will be the first to admit that I'm no expert on the yakuza!
 

I know some foreigners who work in other industries who are also in such sad situations, and hang around for the money despite it being poor.

Still returns to the point - Are Japanese people being forced into the same situation? Are they a very small minority? Are all adult related industries run by the Yakuza?
 
If you are a young women who defaults on repaying her loan you might get the experience. Usually "normal" people are extremely chocked when they fail to repay their loan in a seemingly genuine financial institute and some day the Yakuza turns up at their home. Usually they are able to find to money one way or another. If not the threats become more servere. If the Yakuza thinks that the woman who took the loan or the wife of the man who took the loan i good looking, they will try to make her become prostitute. This commonly known to be the practice of the Yakuza, amazing that you do not know about that!

In the newspapers there are often reports aobut people who have been trapped because of debt. Unfurtunately most people are too scared and ashamed to talk about their personal experiences. If you read the novel "Ka sha" by Miyabe Miyuki you will learn more about this issue.
 
I've read Kasha before and I like Miyabe's works, but I don't know the differences between the Waiwai magazines and the novel.
I know ID thefts are not only in Japan, but everywhere...
 
I think this thread is starting to go the way of other fringe culture threads - are we backing up any of this with evidence?

Is the work of fiction from one novelist enough to base these statements upon?

And what you are describing (Japanese people in debt) are rare cases. Its far easier to dissapear, or loan the money from family.
 

Small war coming up, or just a couple of incidents?
 

I mentioned the novel because it is based very thorough research. Most reports regarding organized crime and prostitution mainly deals with trafficking of women from other countries. However, in one of these reports one case dealing with japanese girls is mentioned:

US State Department: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Japan - 2004:
The chapter: ツ"Trafficking in Personsツ" mainly deals with trafficking of women from other countries to the Japanese sex-industry. However, one paragraph also touched on the problem of forcing japans girls to work as prostitutes:
ツ" In May, according to media reports, a sex club boss and a brothel operator became the first persons charged with human trafficking in the country, after forcing two underage Japanese girls to work as prostitutes to repay debts they had incurred at the club. ツ"

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41644.htm

This only one well documented case, but it illustrates that the Yakuza's inhuman treatment of women is both affecting forign and japanese women.
 
In terms of hostess bars or host clubs, I am a bit liberal to claim it is highly offensive to call them prostitutes, but I think it is better for Japan to tighten its immigration policy esp., entertainer visa or fake marriage.

It was interesting to meet an Asian guy who worked at a host club.
But without strong Danish networking here, it is rather difficult to work as a host with your student visa. Be careful.
 
well.. I hope they make Japan enough money so they can respect other people as them self. Untill that I treat them the trash back they give me.
 
I would like to think that these guys are a good thing for Japan, they keep things right in order, unlike in western countries, where many innocent people get affected by mafias, right??
Mauricio

Shooting a Mayor! Is that keeping things in order?

Mainichi, 18 April 2007:
Nagasaki mayor dies after being shot by gangster
"NAGASAKI -- Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito, who was seeking re-election, died early Wednesday after being shot by a gangster in front of his campaign office, police said.

Ito, 61, died at Nagasaki University Hospital at 2:28 a.m. from loss of blood.

Police arrested Tetsuya Shiroo, 59, a senior member of the Suishin-kai, affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi crime syndicate, on suspicion of attempted murder because Ito was alive at the time. Police are poised to upgrade the charges to murder.

Shiroo admitted to the allegations during questioning. "I intended to kill him. It's true that I shot him," he was quoted as telling investigators."
 

There were quite a few from Columbia working here in Okinawa in a sex club, have no idea if they were forced into this type of work but they were/are here and in the sex industry.

This is not heresay, I personally know of quite a few women from the P.I. that came here expecting to be "entertainers" and had their passports taken from them on entry to Japan, they were then all forced into living together in one small apartment and had their lives regulated from getting up in the AM to after "work" in the PM. They had no days off during the week, unless they were sick or having their period.

The people that "took care" of them kept them on a very short leash and were some truly scary characters.

Their stories were similar to the stories of the young girls that went to Hollywood in the USA looking to make their "fame and fortune" there.

And what you are describing (Japanese people in debt) are rare cases. Its far easier to dissapear, or loan the money from family.

I lived in one of the soapland districts here in Okinawa, and large number of the women working there came here from mainland, many came to escape their debts from "back home", and others came to work here to pay them off. A few of us were drinking buddies, however they wouldn't come straight out and say they were forced into there work, yet the atmosphere got really "chilly" when I ask a couple of them once what kept them doing what they were doing.

It wasn't really that hard to read between the lines.

I notice quite often here that people ask for "evidence" that these stories are true. In regards to "evidence", and of course this being a message board, it is rather difficult to find out information that can satisfy the questioner. people have to accept what is being written at face value and make their judgments from there own experiences, ideas and or knowledge.

If there was a way to gather the evidence without getting oneself killed for it, I'd bet that it would have been done by now.

I also think the police have a very good idea of what's going on as well, and as long as their are no complaints from the customers about getting ripped off or something like that, they turn a blind eye to it.

Prostitution is illegal here in Japan, but like with so many other things here everything is not black and white, but rather a huge shade of gray.
 
I hate the yakuza for exploiting people. They use scams to make money, and this can affect normal people.

One one my family members works in a small business and was sent some kind of package that they did not order. It was all wrapped up and seemed suspicious so they did not open and did not have a return adress, and sure enough a few days later a yakuza memebr comes and asks for money for buying the book. Luckily, the package was returned to him because it was not opened but there was much yelling and threatening from the yakuza.

Another thing I hate about the yakuza is how they bring amphetamines into Japan and sell them. Amphetamines is one of the most popular illegal drugs in Japan, thanks to the yakuza. If you google "amphetamines" and "yakuza", you can get a lot of articles about how they smuggle most of it in.
 
I guess this guy was keeping the streets safe for us, huh?

Well, this guy wasn't, but this one was:



Yakuza dealt with my stalker
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20070501a1.html
 
Yakuza is cool! But then again also terrifying

I played the game and im following some yakuza series and i must say respect brother!

well i hope i never encounter them in real life!

Cool thread by the way
 
It's not a far stretch of the imagination to say that the Yakuza keep the streets safe. It may not be 100% true but theoretically, if the Yakuza operate in a certain area, this prevents the scummier petty thieves from becoming problematic. It's like a food chain, The Lion does not eat the smallest creatures, but it does eat those predators that feed on those smallest creatures thus keeping them safe for the most part. While prostitution and gambling are permitted to continue behind closed doors, the average citizen can walk around Kabukicho without fear of being mugged or having their bag snatched by some petty gang of youths.
 
Yakuza and the underworld of Japan

If you live in Japan I am sure you have seen the Yakuza some place. Having lived in Tokyo I saw them in Shinjuku and often the seedy parts of town.

Well I don't know too much about their history. What I know is that the biggest Yaguza syndicate is the Yamaguchi Gumi and they have around 30,000 members. Thats alot of people. The Yamaguchi Gumi's head quaters are in Kansai.

The second biggest is the Sumiyoshi Rengo and they are based in Tokyo.

Yakuza make money in various ways. Some leagal and others illeagal. They run brothels and other establishment in the sex-enertainment business, gambling casinos, loan money, guarding various establishments and sell drugs.

If you for instance want to open up a store in some place in Japan say a bar. Chances are that you might have to pay a certain sum to the Yakuza.

My take on things is that the police and the Yakuza too are connected. For instance the police will take money from the Yakuza again for them to be able to run their illeagal establishments.


Benjamin Fulford – ベンジャミン・フルフォード日本版公式サイト

I have also heard that there is an acceptance of the Yakuza even by the police and politicians in Japan. DUring the US occupation right after WW2 Japan had no protection so alot of the Japanese people and politicians looked for they Yakuza for protection.

I am not a big fan of the Yakuza. And make sure to keep my distance. If you happen to get into an argument or even worse a fight with a wrong person you can get yourself in serious trouble.

Any thoughts?

This video is good to get some kind of insight to the under world of Japan.

 
interesting post but I believe the Turkish organized crime groups are much more powerful than Yakuza.For example Mr.Baybashin was controlling the heroin sell in all uk.right know he is in dutch prison but still very effective.
 
wow the yakuza..i love them
they are like the modern samurai

" you disobey me..cut your pinky "
 

I think I know about this incident. It was a turf war. The Osaka based Yamaguchi Gumi wanted to break into the market in Tokyo due to the recession hitting harder in Osaka than Tokyo they made an alliance with a yakuza group in Tokyo and Sumiyoshi Kai wanted to keep them out and then hell broke lose.

Scorpion San. I guess Yakuza´s are cool in some aspects about not in others.

I guess in some cases they can make a community safer but then they ruin it all by selling drugs, amphetamine, human trafficing etc.

I heard Yakuza own the rickshaw business in Asakusa.
 
im not sure if its true but i heard something about how there was a disaster in japan and the yakuza were the first to aid and that the governemnt or police and stuff took way longer. is this true? please correct me or am i just crazy ><
 
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