Yakuza
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
| Yakuza | |
|---|---|
 Yakuza members displaying their status at Sanja Matsuri | |
| Founded | 17th century (presumed to have originated from the Kabukimono) |
| Membership | more than 200,000 members[1] |
| Criminal activities | Varied, including illegitimate businesses |
Yakuza (Japanese: ヤクザ, IPA: [jaꜜkɯza]), known also as gokudō (極道, "the extreme path", IPA: [gokɯꜜdoː]), are members of transnational organized crime syndicates in Japan.
Yakuza call themselves ninkyō dantai (chivalrous organizations) which the Japanese media and police call them bōryokudan (violence group). They are the world's largest criminal organization and have about 103,000 members.[2][3] The three biggest Yakuza families are Yamaguchi-gumi, Sumiyoshi-kai, and Inagawa-kai. During the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, they opened their offices to help refugees and sent dozens of trucks with supplies to affected areas.[4]
References
- ↑ "Police of Japan 2017, page 22" http://www.npa.go.jp/english/kokusai/pdf/Police_of_Japan_2017_full_text.pdf Archived 2018-10-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ US Treasury Freezes Assets Of Top Gangsters From Around The WorldBusiness Insider. Retrieved 2014-01-20.
- ↑ Kiyoshi Nakabayashi: Ex-Tokyo cop speaks out on a life fighting gangs — and what you can doJapan Times. Retrieved 2014-01-20.
- ↑ Yakuza to the RescueThe Daily Beast. Retrieved 2014-01-20.
Other websites
- The secret lives of Yakuza women-BBC Reel(Video)
- 101 East – Battling the Yakuza—Al Jazeera (Video)
- FBI What We Investigate - Asian Transnational Organized Crime Groups
- Yakuza Portal site
- Blood ties: Yakuza daughter lifts lid on hidden hell of gangsters' families
- Crime Library: Yakuza
- Yakuza distribution map
- Japanese Mayor Shot Dead; CBS News, 17 April 2007
- Yakuza: The Japanese Mafia
- Yakuza distribution map
- Yakuza: Kind-hearted criminals or monsters in suits?
