Six months ago, Shinsuke Shimada, a comic who hosted several big primetime shows on Japanese TV, admitted ties to organized crime and resigned from showbiz. His abrupt departure caused a media sensation as it shone a harsh light on the mob's influence on the industry, and new ordinances went into effect in Tokyo and Okinawa in October making it a crime to pay off the yakuza -- Japan's mafia -- or profit from dealing with them.
But if anyone expected these "startling" events to bring significant changes, they've since been disappointed.
The Japanese entertainment industry has its roots in a vast night world of clubs, cabarets and bars, which have connections with the yakuza that go back centuries and are still pervasive, despite efforts by the police (who call the thugs boryokudan, meaning violence groups) and the biz to sever them. (Variety)