The Japanese mafia is looking for a new "business model"

"L'Expansion" met one of the main chiefs of the Japanese mafia. Far from the myth, Masatoshi Kumagai describes a "circle" weakened by repression of the authorities, in search of a new "business model".


Masatoshi Kumagai, surrounded by his henchmen.

The meeting took place in a discrete building in the Shinagawa district, south of Tokyo. Sitting on a sofa in a long room on the top floor, Masatoshi Kumagai, one of the most powerful "godfathers" of the Japanese mafia - the so-called yakuza - has agreed to talk about his business. Around him, his henchmen, dressed all in black, look like they came out of a movie by Takeshi Kitano . One of them, bull-like neck and tough look, has a finger cut - a common practice among yakuza. When he committed serious misconduct, the gangster cuts off one of his phalanxes, wraps it in a piece of cloth and offers it to his boss as a sign of contrition.

It is exceptional that a Mafia boss lifts the veil on its activities, as they did for us. Why has he done it for our magazine - 'L'Expansion'? Because our approach of the topic - from an economic perspective - pleased him. No sensationalism here: the yakuza are an economic reality in the archipelago, with more than 80,000 men grouped in "families", like the Sicilian Mafia. Clan Inagawakai, of which Kumagai is one of the bosses, is a true criminal enterprise. No doubt the man wants to also restore some truths. He said several times during the interview: "There are a lot of fantasies and mediatic exaggeration" about the yakuza. People think they're ever stronger, richer. "It is rather the opposite trend," said he. He said the 22 yakuza clans identified in Japan are in decline. Blame the Japanese government, which, he says, has declared war on the Mafia two years ago.


The structure of a family

Background: April 17, 2009, the mayor of Nagasaki was murdered in broad daylight by a yakuza. Called a "challenge to democracy" by the Prime Minister at the time, the crime of broke the "contract" that bound the state and the yakuza. To understand how such tolerance could exist, one must go back a few decades. After World War II, first, when the state uses the Japanese yakuza to fight against Chinese and Korean gangs that plague the country. In the 60's, then when the mob broke the workers' strikes with the blessing of the Conservative Party.

The state is neutralized, the Japanese "octopus" can spread its tentacles. Racket, games, traffic of 'shabu' (amphetamines), loan sharking, prostitution ... Mafias got richer. In 2004, an economist Takashi Kadokura, evaluates their war chest of more than 6 billion euros! Adored, admired, the yakuza are seen in the evenings for the jet-set, the money flows. Too much arrogance? A 1992 law known as "anti-gang", was voted to reduce the influence and visibility of the yakuza. But it was not until seventeen years to come into force.



So, gone are the large receptions in the palaces in Tokyo, Japanese mafia is discreet - even though it always set up shop. At the same time it seeks new sources of growth. What better way to grow than to gain a foothold in the traditional economy? In recent years, major yakuza clans have so far invested some sectors such as construction, the stock market and real estate. According to estimates by the Japanese police, over half of the mafia's income today comes from"legal" business. So who really is the Yakuza? Businessmen and gangsters? Both, actually. This is reflected in the statistics: of the 80,900 members, 42,300 have a status of "associate". They are not tattooed, as the "real" Yakuza, but they revolve around the organization. "They are experts in finance, law ... Half of the clan Inagawakai or 4800 people, is made up of partners," said Masatoshi Kumagai.

Will the yakuza be able to inject their profits in the "white" economy much longer? Nothing is less certain. To survive, said Masatoshi Kumagai, they must evolve their business model. A former hitman is preparing for that. Already, he found parades. Confessions of a boss.

Masatoshi Kumagai, path of a boss

Masatoshi Kumagai is one of the few yakuza leaders to expand its activities beyond Japanese borders.

With his pink breast pocket and designer glasses, he would almost pass as a classic businessman. But he has this look, penetrating, almost disturbing. And this tattoo that can be guessed from under the golden watch ... Aged 50, Masatoshi Kumagai is a leader of Inagawakai, the second Japanese yakuza clan.

Born in Sendai, he wanted -he said- to become a police officer. But his destiny is turned upside down the day he helped one of his friends take revenge on thugs who beat him up. "He fed me, at some point in my life when I was starving. I could not abandon him." The brawl goes wrong, he gets arrested, has the honor of the local press. "After I no longer had a choice, I had to continue on this path," he says. He becomes yakuza, and showed skills so good that the "oyabun" - the supreme head of the organization, directly takes him under his wing.

In 2006, a war of succession led to him being put aside. Since then, he who says he "went through hell" is trying to return to the front. Now he is one of the main bosses of the clan. Will he become one day the supreme leader of the organization? Some think so. Meanwhile, the devout Catholic spends much time abroad, particularly in China and South Korea. Looking for new businesses.

The intricacies of the Japanese mafia system

Ya-ku-za
Literally, this word means 8-9-3, or a combination of losing a card game in Japan. Originally, it referred to the failures and excluded from Japanese society. Today, young crooks remain the main pool of yakuza clans.

Organization
As in the Sicilian Mafia, the yakuza are organized into "families" are themselves structured in a pyramid. The chief, oyabun, plays the role of father. He rules over his "sons". Among them, the executives kanbu, members, kumi-in, and apprentices, jun-Kosei-in. Everyone pays a fee to his superior called jonokin, up to the top of the pyramid.

Code
In the beginning, the yakuza obeyed a strict code of honor, the ninkyodo (the path of chivalry). Of the nine commandments: "In prison, you shall say nothing," "You shall not offend the good citizens," "You shall be willing to die for the father." Few today yakuza who follow the rules to the letter.

Rites
A symbol of belonging, the tattoo is also among yakuza, a sign of courage. Because the process is very painful: the ink is injected under the skin with needles attached to bamboo handles. The ritual of the severed finger (in case of serious misconduct) is still practiced. "But it could disappear in the long run," said Masatoshi Kumagai.


Tokyo at night. Clan Inagawakai including Kumagai (left of the car) is one of the boss, is the second "family" the most important of the 22 identified in the archipelago.

INTERVIEW

Have the yakuza been affected by the crisis?

What has especially affected us is the change in attitude of the Japanese towards us. Until 2009, we could operate our business, there was a tolerance from the authorities. Of course, there were anti-yakuza laws, like 1992, but there was no real control. As of 2009, everything changed. Weakened by the crisis, the government started to fight us. It was for them a way to risen up its popularity. As a result, regulation has become very restrictive. And the police have no longer indulgent towards us.

Didn't the especially want to end the spiral of violence that decimated the yakuza clans?

There is some truth in what you say. The yakuza have gone too far in the violence, they choked themselves.

What was the impact of this "declaration of war" of the state of the Japanese mafia business?

Some of our activities are in decline. Racketeering, for example. Now, a shopkeeper who gives money to a yakuza clan in exchange for "protection" may be harassed by the police. The first time he receives a warning. If he continues to pay, he will deal with the anti-gang brigade and received a heavy penalty. His right of exploitation gets confiscated. In some areas where the yakuza have traditionally been well established, such as construction, it is also increasingly difficult to do business. Thus, companies owned by the Yakuza can no longer respond to calls for tenders.

You can do so indirectly, via front companies ...

We have links with some groups of building and public works, I will not tell you otherwise. But these arrangements are complex to perform. There are less and less.

Are the yakuza still very active in the financial sphere?

There too, our presence is weakening. For a long time, the yakuza have influenced stock prices, because we had the information before anyone else. It is no longer the case. The last major financial scandals have shown, the yakuza no longer have "exclusive info" for insider trading. There are no longer real boundaries between the legal world, the traders, and the illegal realm, that of the yakuza.

Do you still send troublemakers to the general shareholders' meeting of large groups to destabilize the management?

'Sokaya'? No, there are hardly any today. The police has prohibited the practice.

You make it sound like the yakuza are disappearing ...

Their influence diminishes, they have to make themselves more discreet. [Masatoshi Kumagai turns sharply to the interpreter, he seems upset] You don't seem to believe me. Other yakuza would make it a point of honor to tell you that all is well. I want to be honest with you. The yakuza are in decline, I guarantee it. Of course, there are still some big businesses, such as drugs, but the yakuza do not earn as much money as before. The figures found in the press - a few hundred million or even billions - are exaggerated.

What will you do to stop this decline?

This is only my own opinion, but I do not think other yakuza leaders would say the same thing. We live in a profound change since 2009. Since their origins, the yakuza have always developed locally. Today, because of the economic crisis and the strict control of the state, you have to get new business abroad. But it is all the more difficult consiering we have never forged links with other mafia circles, be it in Taiwan, Hong Kong or Vietnam.

Which countries are you looking to develop yourself? And what kind of activity?

Mainly in Asia. I take part in "deals" that are made between partners located in different countries, including China and South Korea. I serve as an intermediary. I invest in Asian companies also. Recently, I entered the capital of casinos in Macao. It's very difficult to do, I'm the only Japanese to have succeeded. More generally, I do not know other leaders and yakuza who go out to conquer the world that way. I have been looking beyond the borders for a while.

What type of network you activate to win these contracts?

I have all kinds of contacts in official companies as well as in the "circle". What is reassuring is that the yakuza still haves a good image abroad. I just came back from Harbin [in the northeast of China]. There, gangsters get tattoos and dress like we did thirty or forty years ago! It is a rather good sign. The links we are building with them today will enable us to invest tomorrow.

What is the revenue of the most powerful clans?

Nobody really knows, even at the highest levels of organizations. Each "family" has its own business - loan sharking, narcotics, gambling halls, legal business ... And in families, each member manages, in addition, his own business, which he keeps secret. It is too dangerous to reveal. The enemies are everywhere. In my case, I do not tell my people what I do ...

How are they perceived yakuza in Japanese society? Their image has changed?

People no longer fear us. Authorities neither. The risk for us is to be totally rejected and to vanish. To avoid such an outcome, we must return to the moral values ​​that have forged us - the ninkyodo (mutual assistance). We absolutely must improve our image - if only to remain attractive.

Why? Do you have problems recruiting?

Yes. Today, it is very difficult to bring in talented people.

Crime does not pay anymore ...

Even young people are reluctant to join. Again, government policies have hurt us. Prison sentences have hardened. A yakuza, who would previously get fifteen years in prison for a felony now gets sentenced to twice the time, sometimes even a life sentence. After serving his sentence, he joined the "family" back. He was respected for what he had done and achieved a higher rank in the organization. Today, the yakuza are weaker, their very existence is threatened. How to ensure that in prison he will find a better place in thirty years, as we do not even know if we still exist? Finally, there is less money. Yakuza be for a youngster is less attractive than when money flowed freely, when he could have all the girls and sports car he wanted.

Does the - relative - decline the yakuza favor the emergence of new criminal organizations?

Yes. In some places, which were previously held by the yakuza, are emerging new criminal groups, including foreigners, who act more quietly, and out of control. If we were not as monitored by the authorities, we could stop this movement ...

What type of person do you recruit? And how do you gauge them?

Young thugs, mainly. It is not I who hire them directly, it's my men. Then, I see these new recruits, I watch how they salute, how they serve tea. I judge their abilities. I see right away the future "hunters" - those who will be able to develop the business. Sometimes we have problems with our youth. They do not have the same mentality as us. When they make a big blunder, they flee. It's not an dignified attitude. The worst is that when we catch them and beat them up to put them in the right way, they go to the police to denounce us! We, when we were beaten by our elders, we screamed to them"Thank you" when it stopped. Young people no longer respect the rules.

How do you train the "hunters"?

I spend a lot of time at it. We must teach the 'young lions' how to hunt. Then it's up to everyone to figure out a way to develop their business. What's important is that they pay their dues. Some succeed better than others. Those we must empower them to develop their territory. For fear of being overtaken, some bosses crush their subordinates. It's silly. Do not be jealous of the talent, you just have to work ten times more than they. I demand obedience from my young yakuza. But I also teach them pride.

Quite interesting.

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Rofl their anti gang task force goes to people and shakes them down telling people to stop paying them for protection.. it's like reverse yakuza tactics lol
Tough economic times for everyone.
Interesting read for sure~ Government is the new(old) crime syndicate

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lol

PS drug dealers should take marketing

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