After decades of tacit acceptance, Japan's yakuza gangs are facing their biggest challenge: not from the police, but from ordinary citizens who are under pressure to shun the mob or be named and shamed.
Tokyo recently became the last of Japan's 47 prefectures to introduce local laws aimed at depriving crime syndicates of income by targeting firms that knowingly do business with them. Under the nationwide ordinances, firms that help the yakuza earn money will be warned, and their names made public if they refuse to sever their ties. Repeat offenders face fines of up to 500,000 yen (£4,200) and company officials can face jail terms of up to a year.
The idea, say law enforcement officials, is to shame businesses into turning their backs on the mob. "It is going to be more difficult for the yakuza to collect funds," said Akihiko Shiba, a former police superintendent who is now a lawyer specialising in corporate compliance. "Police once concentrated on the gangs themselves, but the new approach is clamping down on those who help the gangs make money."
The authorities' fight against organised crime took another step forward on Thursday when the national police agency unveiled a new bill enabling officers to step up surveillance of the most violent gangs and take pre-emptive measures if necessary. (guardian.co.uk)