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Yakuza
, also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yakuza'' is gangster, meaning an individual involved in a Mafia-like criminal organization. The ''yakuza'' are known for their strict codes of conduct, their organized fiefdom nature and several unconventional ritual practices such as '' yubitsume'' or amputation of the left little finger. Members are often portrayed as males, wearing "sharp suits" with heavily tattooed bodies and slicked hair. This group is still regarded as being among "the most sophisticated and wealthiest criminal organizations". At their height, the ''yakuza'' maintained a large presence in the Japanese media and operated internationally. At their peak in the early 1960s, police estimated that the ''yakuza'' had a membership of more than 200,000."Police of Ja ...
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Yamaguchi-gumi
is Japan's largest '' yakuza'' organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for dockworkers in Kobe before World War II. It is one of the largest criminal organizations in the world. According to the National Police Agency, it had 8,500 active members at the end of 2021. The Yamaguchi-gumi are among the world's wealthiest gangsters, bringing in billions of dollars a year from extortion, gambling, the sex industry, arms trafficking, drug trafficking, real estate and construction kickback schemes. They are also involved in stock market manipulation and Internet pornography. The Yamaguchi-gumi has its headquarters in Kobe, but it operates all across Japan and has overseas operations. Its current ''kumichō'' (Boss), Shinobu Tsukasa, has declared an expansionist policy—even making inroads into Tokyo, traditionally not Yamaguchi turf. They also have multiple groups working overseas. History Relief supp ...
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Organized Crime
Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a form of illegal business, some criminal organizations, such as terrorist groups, rebel forces, and separatists, are politically motivated. Many criminal organizations rely on fear or terror to achieve their goals or aims as well as to maintain control within the organization and may adopt tactics commonly used by authoritarian regimes to maintain power. Some forms of organized crime simply exist to cater towards demand of illegal goods in a state or to facilitate trade of goods and services that may have been banned by a state (such as illegal drugs or firearms). Sometimes, criminal organizations force people to do business with them, such as when a gang extorts money from shopkeepers for " protection". Street gangs may of ...
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Inagawa-kai
The is the third largest of Japan's yakuza groups, with approximately 3,100 members. It is based in the Kantō region, and was one of the first yakuza organizations to begin operating overseas. History The Inagawa-kai was founded in Atami, Shizuoka in 1949 as the by Kakuji Inagawa."1993 Police White Paper Chapter 1 : The Actual Condition of the Boryokudan"
1993, ''''
Most of its members were drawn from the (traditional gamblers), and

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Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and resources that support much larger and more complex criminal transactions than an individual criminal could achieve. Gangsters have been active for many years in countries around the world. Gangsters are the subject of many novels, films, television series and video games. Usage In modern usage, the term "gang" is generally used for a criminal organization and the term "gangster" invariably describes a criminal. Much has been written on the subject of gangs, although there is no clear consensus about what constitutes a gang or what situations lead to gang formation and evolution. There is agreement that the members of a gang have a sense of common identity and belonging and this is typically reinforced through shared activities and thro ...
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Sumiyoshi-kai
The , sometimes referred to as the , is the second-largest yakuza group in Japan with an estimated 4,000 members. Outline Their territories mainly consist of upscale districts such as Kabukichō and Ginza. Shops operating in these territories are often part of protection rackets in which they must pay a fee called a . The Sumiyoshi-kai is a confederation of smaller gangs. Structurally, the Sumiyoshi-kai differs from its main rival, the Yamaguchi-gumi. The Sumiyoshi-kai, as a federation, has a looser chain of command and while there is a chairman, some power is delegated to affiliate clan leaders. The group has a complex history, with numerous name changes along the way. It was founded in 1958 as the Minato-kai (港会) by Shigesaku Abe who was the 3rd of the Sumiyoshi-ikka. Yoshimitsu Sekigami, who was the 4th ''sōchō'' of Sumiyoshi-ikka, renamed it to Sumiyoshi-kai. It was dissolved in 1965. In 1969, the group was rebuilt as a union, the Sumiyoshi-rengo, by Masao Hori ...
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Kabukimono
or were gangs of samurai in feudal Japan. First appearing in the Azuchi–Momoyama period (between the end of the Muromachi period in 1573 and the beginning of the Edo period in 1603) as the turbulent Sengoku period drew to a close, were either , wandering samurai, or men who had once worked for samurai families who, during times of peace, formed street gangs. Some, however, were also members of more prominent clansmost notably Oda Nobunaga and Maeda Toshiie. Etymology The term is often translated into English as "strange things" or "the crazy ones", believed to be derived from , meaning "to slant" or "to deviate"; the term is also the origin of the name for kabuki theatre (歌舞伎) as the founder of kabuki, Izumo no Okuni, took heavy inspiration from the (歌舞伎者)."Kabuki" in Frederic, Louis (2002). ''Japan Encyclopedia''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. The kanji used are ateji used for their pronunciation not their inherent meaning. Descriptio ...
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Yubitsume
or ''otoshimae'' is a Japanese ritual to atone for offenses to another, a way to be punished or to show sincere apology and remorse to another, by means of amputating portions of one's own little finger. In modern times, it is primarily performed by the yakuza, one of the most prominent Japanese criminal organizations. Origin The ritual is thought to have originated with the bakuto, itinerant gamblers who were predecessors of the modern yakuza.Kaplan, D.; Dubro, A: ''Yakuza'', p. 14. University of California Press, 2003 If a person was unable to pay off a gambling debt, yubitsume was sometimes considered an alternative form of repayment. Yubitsume was a form of credit and reputation score. In Japanese swordsmanship (kendo and iaido), the little finger's grip is the tightest on the hilt. A little finger-amputee was therefore unable to grip his sword properly, weakening him in battle and making him more dependent on the protection of his boss. Ritual details To perform ...
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Mafia
"Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of disputes between criminals as well as the organization and enforcement of illicit agreements between criminals through the use of or threat of violence. Mafias often engage in secondary activities such as gambling, loan sharking, drug-trafficking, prostitution, and fraud. In modern times, the 'Ndrangheta, originating in the Southern Italian region of Calabria, is widely considered the richest and most powerful mafia in the world. The term "mafia" was originally applied only to the Italian Mafia or specifically the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia, and the term originates in Sicily. However, the term has since expanded to encompass other organizations of similar methods and purpose, e.g., "the Russian Mafia" or "the Japanese Mafi ...
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:Category:Japanese Words And Phrases
{{Commons Words and phrases by language Words Words Words A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no conse ...
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California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the most populated subnational entity in North America and the 34th most populous in the world. The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous urban regions respectively, with the former having more than 18.7million residents and the latter having over 9.6million. Sacramento is the state's capital, while Los Angeles is the most populous city in the state and the second most populous city in the country. San Francisco is the second most densely populated major city in the country. Los Angeles County is the country's most populous, while San Bernardino County is the largest county by area in the country. California borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, the M ...
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Oicho-Kabu
is a traditional Japanese card game that is similar to Baccarat. It is typically played with special ''kabufuda'' cards. A ''hanafuda'' deck can also be used, if the last two months are discarded, and Western playing cards can be used if the face cards are removed from the deck and aces are counted as ''one''. ''Oicho-Kabu'' means ''8-9'' and uses the Japanese kabufuda names for the numbers one to ten. As in baccarat, this game also has a dealer, whom the players try to beat. The goal of the game is to reach 9. As in baccarat, the last digit of any total over 10 makes your hand: a 15 counts as 5, a 12 as 2, and a 20 as 0. Having two of the same card makes it the card number: a 10 and a 10 = 10, 1 and a 1 = 1. The worst hand in ''oicho-kabu'' is an eight, a nine and a three, phonetically expressed as "ya-ku-za". This is the origin of the Japanese word for "gangster," ''yakuza , also known as , are members of Transnational crime, transnational organized crime, organiz ...
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Media Of Japan
The mass media in Japan include numerous television and radio networks as well as newspapers and magazines in Japan. For the most part, television networks were established based on capital investments by existing radio networks. Variety shows, serial dramas, and news constitute a large percentage of Japanese evening shows. Western movies are also shown, many with a subchannel for English. There are all-English television channels on cable and satellite (with Japanese subtitles). TV networks There are 6 nationwide television networks, as follows: * NHK is a public service broadcaster. The company is financed through "viewer fees," similar to the licence fee system used in the UK to fund the BBC. NHK deliberately maintains neutral reporting as a public broadcast station, even refusing to mention commodity brand names. NHK has 2 terrestrial TV channels, unlike the other TV networks (in the Tokyo region—channel 1 ( NHK General TV) and channel 3 (NHK Educational TV)). ...
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