White Paper of the Police 2021

1. Measures against bōryokudan

1. Situation of Bōryokudan

Changes in gang members and quasi-members over the past decade are shown in Figure 3-1. The total number of members has decreased since 2005, and at the end of 2020 it was the lowest since 1992, when the Anti-Yakuza Law came into force. This can be attributed to members leaving their gangs in recent years due to the progress of anti-yakuza activities and the increasing difficulty in earning revenues, due to the increasing control of bōryokudan crimes.

In addition, the share of the total number of members belonging to larger organisations, including those which split from the Rokudaime Yamaguchi-gumi, remained above 70% at the end of 2020, showing that the oligopoly of the major groups continues.




Numbers of yakuza members 2011-2020

Year 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Category
Total 70,300 63,200 58,600 53,500 46,900 39,100 34,500 30,500 28,200 25,900
  Full members 32,700 28,800 25,600 22,300 20,100 18,100 16,800 15,600 14,400 13,300
  Quasi-members 37,600 34,400 33,000 31,200 26,800 20,900 17,700 14,900 13,800 12,700
Main organisations 50,900 45,800 42,300 38,500 33,200 28,300 25,300 22,300 20,400 18,600
  % Main organisations 72.4 72.5 72.2 72.0 70.8 72.4 73.3 73.1 72.3 71.8

2. Dissolution and disbandment of gangs
In 2020, 134 groups that were dissolved or disbanded, for a total of 426 members. Of these, 99 groups (73.9%) and 344 (80.8%) members were affiliated with major syndicates.

3. Designation of gangs
As of 1 June 2021, 24 groups were designated as bōryokudan groups under the provisions of the Anti-Yakuza Law. Six organisations were designated in 2020, and four organisations were designated by June 2021.

Source: NPA (2021), Hanzai Hakusho [White Paper of the Police]

https://www.npa.go.jp/hakusyo/r03/honbun/index.html

2. Measures against crimes committed by bōryokudan

1. Arrests trends
The number of arrests of gang members, quasi-members and other persons related to bōryokudan (hereafter referred to as 'group members') has been decreasing in recent years (see chart 3.3 below). The proportion of arrests for violations of the Methamphetamine Control Act, extortion, gambling and bookmaking (hereafter referred to as 'traditional fund-raising crimes') to the total number of arrests of gang members is 32.7%. The proportion of arrests for violations of the Methamphetamine Control Law is particularly high, as the methamphetamine trade continues to be a major source of funding for gangs. Furthermore, Chart 3.4 shows that since 1990 the proportion of crimes such as extortion, gambling and bookmaking has decreased, while the proportion of fraud arrests has increased, indicating a change in bōryokudan's revenues.




Fig. 3.3 Arrests of groups members (traditional fund-raising activities) 2010-2020
                             Year
Arrests            		 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Total gang members arrested 25,686 26,269 24,139 22,861 22,495 21,643 20,050 17,737 16,881 14,281 13,189
Total gang members arrested for traditional fund-raising activities 8,742 8,680 8,209 7,478 7,479 7,202 6,269 5,795 5,641 4,422 4,313
  Violation of the Stimulants Control Act 6,283 6,513 6,285 6,045 5,966 5,618 5,003 4,693 4,569 3,593 3,510
  Blackmail 1,684 1,559 1,334 1,084 1,084 1,042 830 803 772 636 575
  Gambling 652 405 511 294 366 515 423 289 292 189 225
  Bookmaking 123 203 79 55 63 27 13 10 8 4 3
Percentage members arrested for traditional fund-raising activities 34.0 33.0 34.0 32.7 33.2 33.3 31.3 32.7 33.4 31.0 32.7



 

Fig. 3.4 Percentage of arrests of gang members, etc. by offence type (1990, 2000, 2010, 2022)
   Stimulants  Blackmail Gambling Bookmaking Injury Theft Fraud Assault Robbery Threat Other Total arrested
1990.0 19.0% 9.6% 10.0% 6.5% 16.8% 7.1% 3.1% 5.0% 1.0% 1.4% 20.4% 34,599
2000.0 24.9% 10.6% 3.7% 2.4% 16.2% 8.4% 5.0% 3.8% 1.9% 1.9% 21.2% 31,054
2010.0 24.5% 6.6% 2.5% 0.5% 11.7% 13.0% 7.6% 4.4% 2.2% 2.1% 25.0% 25,686
2022.0 26.6% 4.4% 1.7% 0.0% 12.4% 8.8% 9.5% 6.3% 1.3% 3.1% 25.9% 13,189

2. Groups fights and struggles
Bōryokudan seem to use violence to achieve their own ends, for example by causing succession disputes using firearms, or by carrying out attacks on businesses that do not comply with their requests, with the aim of retaliation or making an example of them.

Figure 3.5 shows the recent incidents of rivalry and attacks on business operators by groups. Some of these incidents involve the use of firearms and pose a serious threat to the lives of citizens, so the police are promoting intensive control of these incidents.






Fig. 3.5 Number of armed confrontation (2016-2020) *1
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  　　　　　Year
　Cases		 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Cases of arme confrontation *2 Number of incidents 42 9 8 14 10
  Involving firearms 6 1 1 3 5
Number of deaths 4 1 0 3 0
Number of injuries 15 4 9 7 8
Attacks to business (suspicion of bōryokudan involvement) *3 Number of incidents 3 2 1 2 1
  Involving firearms 1 0 0 0 1
  Use of hand greandes 0 0 0 0 0
Number of deaths 0 0 0 0 0
Number of injuries 0 0 0 2 0
Firearm shootings incidents (suspicion of bōryokudan involvement) *4 Number of shootings (cases) 17 13 4 10 14
Number of deaths 2 2 0 4 3
Number of injuries 1 4 1 5 5
*1 All figures are as of end-May 2021.
*2 The total number of incidents that appear to result from a series of conflicts between specific groups for a specific cause is defined as the 'number of incidents'.
*3 Incidents of murder, injury, etc., where it is deemed that bōryokudan have committed such acts for the purpose of intimidation, retaliation, etc., against businesses that carry out activities that do not comply with their requests.
*4 Firearms ('guns, rifles, machine guns, cannons, guns, hunting rifles and other loaded firearms and air guns with the function of firing metallic projectiles' (Article 2(1) of the Firearms Act) that cause or threatened to cause death or injury to persons or damage to property (excluding negligence and suicide). 

CASE.

In August 2020, a member of the Rokudaime Yamaguchigumi-gumi (33), shot with the intent to kill a senior member of the Kobe Yamaguchigumi-gumi and injured him. In October of the same year, the man was arrested for attempted murder.

3. Crimes
In addition to the trafficking of methamphetamine, collection of protection fees from restaurants and other establishments, extortion targeting companies and administrative bodies, bōryokudan also commit different crimes adapting to the changing conditions, such as robbery, theft, special fraud and fraud abusing various public benefit schemes.

In addition, groups use bōryokudan-managed companies or collude with accomplices to conceal their status to commit crimes such as violations of the Money Lending Business Act and the Worker Dispatching Act, under the guise of general economic transactions.

The police collect and analyse information on the increasingly sophisticated and opaque activities of criminal groups, and promote enforcement against groups and accomplices while paying attention to changing trends in groups' activities.

CASE

In May 2020, a member of a group affiliated with the Rokudaime Yamaguchi-gumi, planned to take advantage of the State's Sustaining Benefits Scheme to swindle cash under the guise of receiving the benefits. He concealed his groups affiliation and applied for the benefits by pretending that the sales of the company he managed had decreased. He took a payment of 2 million yen in cash. In November 2020 same year, the man was arrested for fraud (Aichi).

Source: NPA (2021), Hanzai Hakusho [White Paper of the Police]

https://www.npa.go.jp/hakusyo/r03/honbun/index.html

3. Application of bōryokudan countermeasures

In cases such as when a designated bōryokudan member has committed a violent demand act by using the power of the gang to which he belongs, the Prefectural Public Safety Commission may issue a cease and desist order in accordance with the Anti-Yakuza Law. Trends in the number of cease and desist orders issued are shown in Fig. 3.6.



Fig. 3.6 Issue of cease and desist and other orders under the Anti-Yakuza Law (2016-2020)
Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Cease and desist order 1,337 1,369 1,267 1,112 1,134
Order to prevent recurrence 33 35 43 32 52
Order to stop interfering 0 1 0 3 1
Order to stop request of protection money 2 1 6 4 3
Order prohibiting the request of gifts 6 11 16 3 7
Order limiting the use of the offices 0 0 2 19(1) 9
Note: Figures in brackets indicate the number of provisional orders withdrawn as an outer number. Provisional orders relating to restrictions on the use of offices were issued and then withdrawn because the offices were removed.

CASE

In May 2020, the chairman of a group affiliated with the Sumiyoshi-kai, used his affiliation to bōryokudan to demand money and other gifts from an acquaintance by saying, "You will get ¥100,000 in benefits, give me ¥50,000 when you get it". In July 2020, the Hokkaido Public Safety Commission issued a cease-and-desist order to the man, based on the Anti-Yakuza Law, prohibiting him from continuing the forceful demands (Hokkaido).

MEMO Conflict between the Rokudaime Yamaguchi-gumi and the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi and the use of the Anti-Yakuza Law

The conflict between the Rokudaime Yamaguchi-gumi and the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi has intensified since April 2019, with a series of murders, and involving the use of handguns, causing great anxiety in local communities. In response to these events, in December 2019, the Public Safety Commissions of Gifu, Aichi, Mie, Kyoto, Osaka and Hyogo Prefectures designated 10 cities, including Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe, as areas requiring special vigilance (hereinafter referred to as 'vigilance areas') in accordance with the Anti-Yakuza Law. The decision to designate the two groups as "designated groups involved in specific conflicts" came into effect in January 2020. Since then, efforts have been made to prevent harm to citizens as a result of conflicts, by taking measures in accordance with the situation of the struggles, such as the addition of a warning area in July, October and December of the same year and in January 2021, due to cases of attempted murder. As of the end of May 2021, 19 cities and towns in 10 prefectures have been designated as warning zones.

CASE.

In May 2020, a senior member of a group affiliated with the Rokudaime Yamaguchi-gumi, shot a senior member of a group affiliated with the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi in the parking lot of the group's office in Okayama City, and injured him. In June of the same year, the man was arrested for attempted murder and other offences. In response to this situation, in July of the same year, the Public Safety Commission of the relevant prefecture designated four cities, including Okayama City, as a warning area and designated the two groups as 'designated groups involved in specific conflicts' (Okayama, Tottori, Shimane and Ehime).

4. Promotion of activities for the elimination of bōryokudan

1. Gang Elimination Activities by the State and Local Authorities

Following the agreement of the Working Team on Comprehensive Measures for the Control of Bōryokudan (hereinafter referred to as the "Working Team") established under the Ministerial Council on Crime Prevention and Control, the national government and local governments are cooperating with the police. In addition, the national government and local governments, in cooperation with the police, are including clauses for the exclusion of bōryokudan in the nomination criteria and contracts of teners (including those related to subcontracts, sub-commissioning contracts, etc.). The Government promotes initiatives such as obliging contractors to report to the police in the event of an unjustified intervention by bōryokudan. Moreover, necessary guidance and requests have been made to industries and independent administrative agencies involved in private-sector construction to promote similar initiatives.

(2) Elimination of bōryokudan from businesses and transactions
(i) Exclusion of bōryokudan from various businesses
In recent years, in order to exclude bōryokudan-related companies from legal businesses, clauses on the exclusion of bōryokudan have been included in laws and regulations. The police are promoting the exclusion of bōryokudan from various businesses, such as money lending and construction, in cooperation with relevant institutions and organisations, in order to cut off funding sources for gangs.

(ii) Elimination of bōryokudan from various types of transactions
In recent years, the activities of bōryokudan have become more sophisticated and unclear. In order to prevent companies from conducting economic transactions without realising that their business partners are bōryokudan-related companies, the police, based on the Guidelines for the Prevention of Damage Caused by Anti-Social Forces to Businesses and the Working Team's recommendations, have strengthened cooperation with relevant institutions and organisations.

3. Activities by local residents and communities to eliminate bōryokudan
In close cooperation with the Centre for the Elimination of Bōryokudan (hereinafter referred to as "Bōryokudan Elimination Centre") and the Bar Association, the police also utilise Qualified Bōryokudan Elimination Centres to support local residents in their activities to exclude local bōryokudan, for example by providing assistance in lawsuits to remove their offices.

In addition, by making use of the provisions in the Anti-Yakuza Law on liability for damages of bōryokudan representatives, the police are working to prevent damage caused by demands from bōryokudan and to provide relief from damages caused by the groups, for example by providing support for lawsuits claiming damages for bōryokudan crimes.

CASE

In October 2020, the Fukuoka Bōryokudan Elimination Centre, which had been accredited as a Qualified Bōryokudan Elimination Centre, was commissioned by residents near the Namikawa-kai headquarters office to file a petition with the Fukuoka District Court in the name of the Centre for a provisional disposition order prohibiting the use of the office, and in November 2020, the order was granted (Fukuoka).

(4) Application of ordinances on the elimination of bōryokudan in local governments
Each prefecture is working so that local authorities, residents and businesses cooperate to eliminate the bōryokudan, and strives to apply ordinances regarding the elimination of criminal groups, which include basic measures on the elimination of such groups, measures to eliminate negative influences from such groups on young people and prohibition of acts that may benefit such groups. 

In accordance with the ordinances, each prefecture implements ordinances stating that assets that may benefit a bōryokudan must not be provided. In 2020, 54 recommendations, 6 guidance, 1 public announcement for refusing a request for explanation, 10 cease-and-desist orders, 2 orders to prevent recurrence and 33 arrests were issued.

CASE.

The head of a group affiliated with the Inagawa-kai opened a gang office around March 2019 in an area in which the establishment and operation of gang offices was prohibited as stipulated in the Kanagawa Prefecture Yakuza Exclusion Ordinance, and operated it until January 2020. By June of the same year, the man and 14 others were arrested for breaching the ordinance (Kanagawa).

CASE.

In June 2020, an executive of an organisation affiliated with the Kyosei-kai, received protection money (¥110,000 in cash) from a person operating a call-girl service business in an area specially designated for the elimination of bōryokudan under the Hiroshima Prefecture Yakuza Exclusion Ordinance. In July 2020, the man and two others were arrested for breaching the ordinance (prohibited acts of a gang member and prohibited acts of a specific business operator) (Hiroshima).

CASE.

A man residing in the Shizuoka Prefecture was suspected of having violated the provisions of the Shizuoka Prefecture Yakuza Exclusion Ordinance (duty of persons who intend to rent real estate) by signing a contract with an organisation affiliated with the Rokudaime Yamaguchi-gumi for the renting of a building, knowing that his building would be used as a gang office. In June 2020, the Shizuoka Prefectural Public Safety Commission requested the man to provide explanations or submit materials to clarify the suspected violation. When the man refused to do so without justifiable reason, in August of the same year, the Shizuoka Prefectural Public Safety Commission published his name and other details in accordance with the provisions of the said ordinance (Shizuoka).

(5) Promotion of measures to reintegrate bōryokudan members into society
In order to eliminate bōryokudan, it is important to wean as many members as possible from their groups and encourage their reintegration into society. In accordance with the Plan for the Prevention of Recidivism, which was approved by the Cabinet in 2017, the National Police Agency, in cooperation with relevant institutions and organisations, is working to enhance its efforts to encourage bōryokudan members to leave their groups, and is also promoting effective measures to improve the social environment and systems necessary for members to leave, work and return to society. 

MEMO Social reintegration adviser

In order to support the smooth employment of those who have left, and those who intend to leave, criminal groups, the police appoint former police officers who have knowledge and experience in ex-offender's social reintegration as social reintegration advisers. They are active in various aspects of bōryokudan members's rehabilitation.

CASE.

A gang member who had been left his group with the support of the police wished to receive employment assistance, so a company was selected by the Council for Social Reintegration and a social reintegration adviser accompanied the member to an employment interview and provided other assistance. In October 2020, the person was employed by the company of his choice.
 

Source: National Police Agency (2021), Hanzai Hakusho [White Paper of the Police]

https://www.npa.go.jp/hakusyo/r03/honbun/index.html

5. Trends of quasi-bōryokudan (members and groups) and other police activities

1. Trends and characteristics of quasi-bōryokudan 
There have been cases of persons belonging to groups centred on former members of motorcycle gangs and others committing group assaults and injuries in downtown areas and entertainment districts, as well as taking part in illegal activities such as special fraud and organised theft. Some of these groups do not have a clear organisational structure like bōryokudan, but there are some that appear to have close links with established bōryokudan.

CASE.

In September 2012, a man and other members of a group, mainly former members of a motorcycle gang, beat a male customer to death with a metal bat and other weapons inside a club in Roppongi, Minato Ward, Tokyo. The police have issued an important wanted person list for the main male suspect for his involvement in this incident (Metropolitan Police Department).

CASE.

A group run a money-lending business fraud, operated unlicensed brothels and trafficked in methamphetamine. By May 2019, a total of 51 members had been arrested on charges of fraud, violation of the Entertainment Establishment Law (unauthorised business), and violation of the Methamphetamine Control Law (transfer for profit) (Yamaguchi).

Quasi-bōryokudan differ from traditional groups, which are characterised by a clear organisational structure. In the quasi-bōryokudan, the links between the members are flexible, repeatedly breaking up and dispersing with each crime. Some quasi-bōryokudan include former members of motorcycle gangs or former players of underground martial arts groups as their core members, while others include bōryokudan members, or former members.

Among quasi-bōryokudan, there are a number of groups that appear to be actively engaged in illegal activities, such as using funds accumulated through illegal fund-raising activities, special fraud and organised theft, to fund further illegal activities and business ventures such as adult entertainment businesses. In addition, there are cases where bōryokudan members commit crimes in collusion with quasi-bōryokudan members. Some of these quasi-bōryokudan act as a nexus between bōryokudan and quasi-bōryokudan.

Fig.3.7

MEMO Examples of quasi-gangs, etc. with links to gangs

A group led by A (22), who run a construction business, had committed special fraud and was known to have links with several bōryokudan members. By October 2019, the Gunma, Tochigi and Nagano prefectural police had arrested 10 members of the group, including A, for fraud and other offences, and had also investigated and arrested two gang members with links to A.

Among the gang members with ties to A, a man B (41), an executive of an organisation affiliated with the Ninkyo Yamaguchi Gumi (renamed Kizuna Kai in February 2020), was arrested for fraud in June 2019, as he had illegally rented a space to be used by an accomplice who had received criminal instructions from A, without revealing that he was a bōryokudan member.

C (44), a member of an organisation affiliated with the Inagawa-kai, was arrested in September 2019 on the charge of evading a criminal, as he had helped A escape on bail during his pending trial in the special fraud trial.

2. Efforts by the police
In light of these trends, the police are strengthening cooperation between relevant departments, such as downtown entertainment areas offices, special fraud countermeasures departments, organised theft countermeasures departments, motorcycle gang countermeasures and juvenile delinquency countermeasures departments, and increased sharing information when they identify a case involving a quasi-bōryokudan. In addition, the police are also strengthening control by making full use of all laws and regulations. 

MEMO Control of quasi-gangs in shopping and entertainment districts, etc.

Some quasi-bōryokudan operate unlicensed entertainment establishments in downtown areas and entertainment districts, attack the operators of other establishments, aggressively tout for customers, charge customers unreasonably high prices and collect shirking fees. The police are working to weaken and destroy these quasi-bōryokudan through the collection of information on them and intensive control.

CASE.

Having received information that a group whose main members included a man (29) who ran a brothel, and was extorting customers of the brothel and committing robberies, a cross-departmental project was set up to deal with the entertainment district, and intensive control was carried out from August 2019. By July 2020, a total of 99 members of quasi-gangs, including this group, had been arrested (Osaka).

CASE.

A group led by an unemployed man (21), consisting mainly of former members of a motorcycle gang, was operating a girls' bar that charged unreasonably high prices. The group submitted to the police a notice of dissolution following intensive police control, but the main members continued to be active afterwards. In May 2020, the group, together with a group based in Okayama Prefecture, attacked brothel operators with metal bats and other weapons. By October of the same year, the men and 16 others were arrested on charges of assembling and preparing a weapon and assault (Osaka).

CASE.

A group led by an unemployed man (37) was demanding protection fees from a restaurant operating in a downtown area. In February 2019, the men asked the owner of a restaurant, "Do you have a relationship with any other group? If not, come with us" and "Let the guy I introduce to you work at this restaurant. I'll make you play catch and you have to pay me 50% of the sales of the customers he brings in", with the aim of collecting a protection fee. In June 2019, the same man and five others were arrested for extortion and other offences (Metropolitan Police Department, Tokushima).