Crime Tokuryū (匿流) - a new type of organized crime

Tokuryū (匿流) refers to a type of organized crime defined as "criminal groups that recruit through social media such as dark part-time jobs and engage in loose associations, repeatedly dispersing and gathering. The National Police Agency coined the term to classify individuals involved in "black" part-time jobs and quasi-gangsters; the words tokumei (anonymous) and ryūdo (fluid) reflect the characteristics of such individuals, who often operate without knowing one another and can quickly disperse and regroup.

In Japan, the crackdown on organized crime has driven the yakuza underground, paving the way for a new breed of criminals known as tokuryū. These quasi-gangsters operate without a formal hierarchy or code, often engaging in transnational crime, and are increasingly involving ordinary citizens in their activities through "dark" part-time jobs. The elusive nature of these groups is highlighted by the difficulty in solving crimes such as the Nasu murder, where the suspects appear to have no direct ties, reflecting the tokuryū's preference for anonymity and loose affiliations.

Traditionally, yakuza have always coexisted with locals, providing services such as the "protection" of businesses. However, the ordinances prohibit locals from conducting business with the yakuza, and companies affiliated with the yakuza risk public exposure on government websites and potential financial repercussions, such as loss of clients and more significant hurdles in borrowing money from banks, Hirosue said. While these measures sent the yakuza underground, younger, tech-savvy quasi-gangsters moved to the forefront because such laws did not apply to them. As society and crime constantly evolve, crime-fighting methods struggle to keep up, Hirosue said. He said that among those classified as tokuryū, there are also former members of the yakuza who had quit but were unable to make a living legitimately due to the laws against organized crime, which led them to return to a life of crime.

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According to Mr Hirosue's research, many classified as tokuryū were ordinary people, including office workers, part-time workers and students who, lured by the promise of high income on social media, got entangled in crime. They got involved in crime because they applied for dark part-time jobs at the invitation of friends and seniors and through people they got acquainted with on social media. The majority of those who got recruited into crime had ended up in such circumstances due to peer pressure from their friends and seniors.




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