Old Yakuza Men Without a Pension

If you are a law-abiding employed person in Japan, you pay into the pension system. If you pay into the system for at least 40 years, you qualify for a full pension when you become 65 years old. I think most foreign residents in Japan don’t qualify for the full pension because they haven’t paid into it for the full 40 years. If a person who has paid into it at least ten years, the payer qualifies for a partial pension. 

I read about how older yakuza (Japanese mafia) members who haven’t worked legitimate jobs, are facing a future with no pension or retirement benefits. The organizations’ leaders may have lots of money, but what about the lower levels members? 

A 68 year old member of one crime family shot two members of another family, then waited for the police to come and arrest him. Why didn’t he try to run and hide, you ask. Well, maybe he wanted to get caught. To me, jail sounds like a horrendous place to live, but if you are facing old age with no money saved and no pension, maybe these guys are thinking it’s not so bad. You get three meals, a place to sleep, health care, all at no cost. There may not be a lot of old men doing this, but even if just a few, there is really something wrong with this situation. Yes, if you commit a serious crime, you should go to jail as punishment. On the other hand, if you commit a serious crime in order to get the “retirement benefits” of being in jail, that just isn’t right.

These crime organizations go back to 17th century Edo (today’s Tokyo). At their strongest in modern times in the 1960’s, membership was about 184,000. Membership now is estimated at about 40,000.

Yakuza Insurance Fraud for Yubitsume

Japan has a great national medical insurance system. Everyone living in Japan has medical insurance. Last year, Masahiro Nouchi went to a Tokyo medical facility and told staff that he had an accident that resulted in the severance of his little finger. The medical staff fixed him up and Japan’s national health insurance paid 40,000 yen of his medical expenses. A month later he needed follow up treatment in his hometown of Gifu City and insurance saved him another 5,000 yen. 

It was good while it lasted, but now 58 year old Mr. Nouchi has been arrested on medical fraud charges for lying about how the finger was severed.  If the finger was lost due to an accident, medical insurance would cover it.  Medical insurance does not cover self inflicted finger severing, so claiming it was an accident and accepting insurance benefits for it is illegal.

An investigation into the medical claims revealed Mr. Nouchi belonged to Japan’s largest yakuza organization, the Rokudaime Yamaguchi-gumi. If you know anything about the yakuza (Japanese mafia), you may have heard that when a member screws up majorly, the punishment is yubitsume, or cutting off a portion of the little finger. Gifu Prefectural Police say that this is the first time that yubitsume related insurance fraud has led to an arrest.  I guess there is a first time for everything.

Yakuza Dog Poop Arrest

 

Everyone knows the yakuza don’t take any crap. You can’t make this stuff up.  

A 57 year old man, who is a member of the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza family (Japanese mafia family), was arrested in Asahikawa City Hokkaido. My first thought was - a member of a crime family getting arrested is not unusual news.  But wait, he was arrested for violation of the waste management law. So what did he do, you ask? The police say that on at least two occasions, he failed to clean up his dog’s poop while out for a walk. The man denies the poop came from his dog, but with surveillance cameras and DNA results from the poop and the dog, the police think they have a strong case. 

I have never heard of anyone being charged with this crime before, but the people I see walking their pets always carry a clean up kit. Is it possible that this is more about getting a yakuza member than arresting someone for a nuisance crime? What do you think?

Yakuza Member Kills Man in the Starbucks (allegedly)

The Yakuza is the organized crime organization in Japan, also known as the Japanese mafia. I know it is sort of weird, but I am kind of interested in this crime organization. The tattoos, the cutting off of the little fingers, the crimes, the mystery.

Anyway, back to the news story. A 62 year old senior member of a yakuza crime organization is on the wanted list for allegedly fatally shooting a man in a Starbucks in Matuyama, Ehime Prefecture. Local police are looking for Yuichiro Maetani on suspicion of murdering 49 year old Yuichiro Ishikawa in the Starbucks store. Ishikawa bled to death after being shot several times in the chest.  No other customers were injured.  Maetani, a member of the Ikeda-gumi yakuza organization in Okayama Prefecture, was seen fleeing the scene carrying what appeared to be a HANDGUN!, according to police. (What? A handgun in Japan? Sounds like proof this guy is in the yakuza.) The police also believe the two men knew each other and were involved in some kind of trouble. Is that a hint that both men were yakuza members? 

I'm watching the news each day for more about this story.

Yakuza Tattoo Example - not connected to this crime story.

Yakuza Boss Arrested for Making Supermarket Point Card

The Japanese mafia is called the Yakuza, and the Japanese government makes it hard for them to do things everyone else takes for granted. Every sign up or contract in Japan contains the "Exclusion of Anti-Social Organizations" clause, which says the signer declares he or she is not part of an illegal organization such as the yakuza.  I made a post last summer about how this prevents yakuza members from getting smart phones. Seventy-three year old yakuza member and boss in the Yamaguchigumi's Aichi group, Takuya Machinaga, found out that it also prevents members from getting a supermarket point card.  

Point cards are loyalty programs offered at every type of chain store supermarket, drug store, convenience store, electronics store, etc. Card members can earn points on every purchase that can later be used on later purchases. Unfortunately for Mr. Machinaga, signing up for his local supermarket's card got him arrested for violating the Exclusion of Anti-Social Organizations clause, which is also known as the "yakuza members not allowed" rule. 

There is no problem with shopping at the supermarket. The problem is that signing the card application constitutes fraud, which was what he was arrested for. He won't need to do any grocery shopping while he serves his time in jail. It pays to read the fine print.

Yakuza Member and Electrician Try to Steal ATM

Lately strange crimes and the Yakuza have been in the news a lot. A self-professed member of the Yamaguchi-gumi from Yokkaichi City and an electrician from Ise City were arrested by Yokkaichi City (Mie Prefecture) police for allegedly breaking into a post office and stealing a cash machine containing about 10.6 million yen in cash. 

The ATM machine (70 cm high, 80 cm long, 40 cm wide, weighing 230 kg) which was installed inside the Kasumi post office was found outside the building about 5 am on April 15th with the money still inside. Police believe the two gave up midway during the theft when they were unable to make off with the ATM. These two and another unidentified third man were seen on security camera footage breaking into the post office with a crow bar. 

The first thing I'm wondering is why it took four months to arrest these two. Maybe it was difficult to make identifications on the security footage? And who is the third man? And finally what would make anyone think they could steal an ATM, built into a wall inside a locked post office, in the middle of the night, when it weighs over 500 pounds? Plus, ATMs always have cameras. What were they thinking?

Yakuza Membership Decreasing

According to Japan's National Police Agency, the number of yakuza (Japanese mafia) members has decreased to 24,100 as of the end of 2021, which was down 1800 from the previous year. This is the lowest number since statistics began in 1958 and the seventeenth consecutive year of declining yakuza membership. 

End of 2021 membership in Japan's main gangs is shown below, with the year on year differences in number of members.

In 2021, 11,735 gang members were charged in a variety of criminal activities, down 1,454 from the previous year.  The largest number of arrests were for violations of the Stimulants Control Act (2,985), followed by fraud (1,555), assault resulting in injury (1,353), theft (1,008), violation of the Cannabis Control Act (764), in addition to 91 charges of murder.  

I wonder why membership is decreasing.  Are old members dying and not enough new members joining? Maybe police are cracking down on these criminals and they lose their membership when they go to jail. 

I've watched many programs about the American mafia families and the FBI or other agencies trying to arrest and convict them.  I did a quick google, but couldn't find the current number of members, but it does appear that their numbers are also decreasing.  Fewer criminals are a good thing, I think.

The Police are Surveilling the Yakuza, Who Are in Turn Following Them

Have you heard of an Apple AirTag device? I hadn't, so I looked it up on the internet after reading about the Yukuza using it.  Apparently these small devices are made to be used for locating personal belongings such as keys or wallets. The 3.2 centimeter in diameter device sends out a Bluetooth signal that can be detected by a nearby phone or device.  Using an iPhone app, the location of the device can be determined.

In Toyoto City, Aichi Prefecture, one of these devices was found on an unmarked police car which was being used to investigate Yakuza members and their drug crimes. The police allege one of the Yakuza crime organizations planted the device on the police car to track the movements of the investigators who were tracking them. 

There are no reports of other tracking devices being found, but the Aichi prefectural police department issued a directive to officers to sweep their vehicles to make sure no other suspicious items are attached to any cars. What will criminals think of next?

Yakuza Bosses Unable to Upgrade Flip Phones

 

The Yakuza (Japanese mafia) bosses are unable to upgrade from the old version flip phones. This is becoming a big problem, as the three big telecom companies in Japan (Au, Softbank, and DoCoMo) are ready to drop 3G service or already have. 

You might be wondering why they don't get newer versions with 4G capability. That's not an option because the Yakuza members have been unable to sign a new phone contract since 2011 when Organized Crime Exclusion Ordinances (Boryokudan Haijo Jorei) were passed across the country. This prevents companies from doing business with members of the Yakuza. Since the passage of these ordinances, mobile phone service providers' contracts require signees to swear they are not members of these organized crime groups in order to avoid liability in the event the customer turns out to be a crminal. 

My first thought is, if they are already criminals, why don't they just lie and sign the contract saying they are not Yakuza members. Apparently high ranking members are under increased scrutiny by the police who will arrest them for any legal infraction. A case of contract fraud would allow the police to investigate their business practices thoroughly. So how about getting someone else who is not involved with illegal activities to make the contract? That, too, is contract fraud, with the same results. 

Would the police really arrest a mobster for such a thing? Yes! In 2017, the head of the Kobe Yamaguchi-Gumi was arrested when he and a female accomplice conspired to get a new phone. The individual charges weren't so serious, but the charges allowed the Hyogo Prefectural Police to search the group's headquarters and to investigate other members of the group. Another incident involved a 46 year old Yakuza member who was arrested by the Hokkaido Prefectural Police in 2020 because he signed a fraudulent mobile phone contract in 2018. 

Younger members of these organizations could have smart phones as they may have signed their contracts before joining the Yakuza. As mobile phone technology continues to change, all of the Yakuza members could be unable to get new phones before long. There are still a few pay phones around.

No More Yakuza Halloween

Halloween is not a Japanese holiday, but in recent years it has started to catch on. In Tokyo, there have been some celebrations that at times have gotten a little out of hand.  The 100 yen shops sell a variety of decorations and costume items.  And, at the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi Yakuza headquarters there has been trick or treating since 2013.  (Yakuza is the Japanese mafia/criminal organization).  Yamaguchi-gumi members call to the children to come in and get candy and to wish them Happy Halloween.

Costumed children thought it was great - free candy! Hyogo Prefecture (where Kobe is located) didn't agree.  Last week the prefectural assembly of Hyogo voted unanimously to revise the Organized Crime Law to make it illegal for a criminal organization to give gifts (money or otherwise, including snacks) to minors, to invite them onto the grounds of their facilities, or to correspond with them. The new law goes into effect October 26th, with punishment for repeat offenders facing up to six months in jail or fines of up to 500,000 yen.  Kanagawa Prefecture has a similar law. 

What do you think, were the yakuza members trying to be nice guys, handing out candy to children, or were they trying to recruit future members?

Yakuza Numbers Hit Record Low

Yakuza is the name for the Japanese "mafia". The Japanese National Police Agency keeps track of the number of people recognized as Yakuza and claim that their numbers fell to a record low of 30,500 in 2018 because of an intense crackdown on organized crime. The agency claims Yakuza numbers fell about 4,000 from 2017, and this is the 14th consecutive year of decline. I wonder if the decline is due to the police crackdowns or because of the declining population in general?

By groups, the Yamaguchi-gumi was the largest group with 9,500 members. Sumiyoshi-kai had 4,900 members and Inagawa-kai had 3,700, according the the police agency. 

The number of Yakuza members investigated by police in 2018 was 16,881 in 2018. Drug cases represented 4,569 members, with bodily harm at 2,042 and fraud at 1,749. Police claim it is harder to live as a Yakuza member because of police crackdowns and social exclusion of members.  

In the US, mafia members have the reputation as being very violent. I don't know if that is also true with the Yakuza.  When I think of the Yakuza, I think tattoos.

Tattoos have long been associated with the criminal Yakuza, so most ordinary people do not have tattoos.  Many (most?) onsens do not allow people with tattoos to enter. 

What is the organized crime situation where you live?  How are tattoos thought of in your country?