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Members of yakuza cut their real family ties and transfer their loyalty to the oyabun. They refer to each other as family members— oyaji (親父, fathers), ojiki (叔父貴, uncles), and kyōdai (兄弟, elder and younger brothers).
Although yakuza membership has declined following an anti-gang law aimed specifically at yakuza and passed by the Japanese government in 1992, there are thought to be about 25,900 active yakuza members in Japan today.
NameJapanese NameHeadquartersReg. In関東関根組Tsuchiura, Ibaraki2018絆會Amagasaki, Hyogo2018神戸山口組Kobe, Hyogo2016浪川会Omuta, Fukuoka2008Aug 22, 2023 · The most prominent group, the Yamaguchi-Gumi, currently headed by Kenichi Shinoda, boasts around 8,000 members and concentrates on gambling, trafficking, and the sex trade. Notably, some Yamaguchi-gumi members still rank among the world’s wealthiest criminals.
5 days ago · yakuza, Japanese gangsters, members of what are formally called bōryokudan (“violence groups”), or Mafia-like criminal organizations. In Japan and elsewhere, especially in the West, the term yakuza can be used to refer to individual gangsters or criminals as well as to their organized groups and to Japanese organized crime in general.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Nov 5, 2019 · The yakuza make some of their money in the stereotypical manner of criminals: prostitution, blackmail, gambling, and the like. But their real wealth comes from completely legitimate businesses, which are often clearly marked as being yakuza owned.
- Kathy Benjamin
Aug 6, 2022 · The Yakuza were, and remain today, something else altogether – a complex group of syndicates and the country’s most powerful and misunderstood criminal gangs. And they are inexorably tied to 400 years of Japanese and Yakuza history.
Jan 17, 2024 · When Nishimura became involved with the yakuza at 20, she took up both roles. But she went one step further – the only woman who has ever partaken in the sakazuki ceremony of exchanging sake cups. This is the ritual that confirms formal affiliation with a yakuza group.
