Gang Members Banned from Phone Purchase, Apartment Rental and Bank accounts — How will Gangs live in 2023?”

One day, the bank suddenly…

In recent years, the number of organized crime groups in Japan has continued to decline, and in 2007, the government’s Cabinet meeting on anti-crime measures designated these groups as “anti-social forces,” and companies and others have been working to eliminate them in earnest. The economic hardship continues.

When Japan was in the midst of a bubble economy, the underworld gang industry benefited as well, with more than 60,000 members joined. However, as of the end of 2021, the latest data available from the National Police Agency, the number had dropped to about 12,300 nationwide, a trend that is expected to continue into 2023.

At the peak of the bubble economy in 1989, the average stock price on the Tokyo Stock Exchange reached a record high of 38,915.87 yen at the end of the year-end trading session. In that year, there were approximately 66,700 gang members nationwide. During the bubble period, gang leaders with a keen sense for money moved into the outer economy, including finance and real estate transactions. This was a source of funds known as “shinogi” in the gangster community. Some of these executives were referred to as “economic yakuza.”

However, the bubble economy burst, and the gangster industry was affected. The police authorities tightened their grip on the industry, and many of the gangs that had intervened in financial and real estate transactions were eliminated. In addition, the Anti-Boryokudan Law was enacted in 1992, and the Gang Exclusion Ordinance was in place by 2011.

A senior executive of a designated organized crime syndicate based in the Tokyo metropolitan area commented, “After the Boryokudan Ho (Anti-Gang Law) was enforced, even if a gang was found to be collecting bouncer fees from downtown restaurants, they could get away with a cease and desist order. However, since the riot police ordinance prohibits stores from offering profits, they openly said, ‘We want to cut off our relationship,'” he recalls.

If a business is found to be providing profits to a gang in violation of the Violent Discharge Ordinance, the Public Safety Commission will issue guidance and recommendations. If the situation does not improve, the name of the business will be made public. For business owners, this is a matter of life and death, as they can expect their bank transactions to be suspended if their names are made public.

The regulations have been further strengthened as a countermeasure against businesses that still cannot sever ties with gangs. In October 2019, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government enacted the revised Tokyo Metropolitan Government Violent Exclusion Ordinance, which allows for the arrest of restaurant operators who pay bouncer fees, etc. In February 2020, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested a restaurant operator and a gang leader who had paid bouncer fees in violation of the ordinance. This was the first incident. The siege network was steadily narrowing.

A senior police official in charge of organized crime investigations at the time the ordinance was enacted said, “The enforcement of the ordinance had a great impact on the yakuza, and many of them quit the organization. It was a major turning point. In addition , the cooperation of companies in eliminating antisocial forces also contributed to the situation,” he pointed out.

Another gang leader confided in us about the reality of the elimination of anti-social forces, as emphasized by a senior investigative alumnus.

One day, we received a phone call from the bank informing us that the account would be closed. The balance in the account was mailed to me by registered mail. Since then, there has been no account in my name. Besides that, I cannot sign a contract for a smart phone, and I cannot buy a car. I cannot move into a rental house. Everything became ‘no anti-company.'”

Even in everyday life, when signing a contract, you are required to sign the terms and conditions, and the document asks, “Are you a member of antisocial forces?” and checking the box “No, I am not a member” when opening a bank account, signing a contract for a smartphone, or staying at a hotel, there was a string of cases of people being arrested for fraud.

On the other hand, there are also gang leaders who use multiple smartphones & accounts.

This predicament is also reflected in the number of gang members nationwide compiled by the National Police Agency at the end of each year. During the bubble era, there were more than 60,000 gang members nationwide, but due to the collapse of the bubble economy in the early 1990s, the number dropped to the 50,000 level. The number has continued to decline and is now in the 40,000 range.

The downward trend was spurred after 2011, when the Gang Exclusion Ordinance came into effect; by the end of 2012, the number had fallen below 30,000 to about 28,800; by 2016, the number had dropped below 20,000 to about 18,100, and by 2021, the latest data available, the number had dropped to about 12,300.

Even the largest gang in Japan, the Yamaguchigumi VI, is following a similar trend. In 2011, when the ordinances for the elimination of organized crime were established nationwide, there were about 15,200 members, but in 2021, the latest data available, there were about 4,000 members. In 2021, the number of members increased from the previous year for the first time since the establishment of the ordinance.

This was due to the fact that Yamaken-gumi, which left Kobe Yamaguchigumi, moved in with a huge force of approximately 500 members. Nevertheless, after the split, the number of members decreased by about 300 every year.

The second largest “Sumiyoshi-kai” in Japan had about 5,600 members in 2011, but by 2021 it will have less than half, about 2,500 members. The Inagawa-kai, the second largest after the Sumiyoshi-kai, had approximately 4,000 members in 2011, and by 2021, this group also had less than half of the total number of members, approximately 1,900. In each of these groups, the number of members is decreasing by 100 to 200 each year. This trend is expected to continue in 2023.

However, even in the past, gangs have tried to survive even in difficult times. Many gang leaders use several different smartphones and multiple bank accounts, even in the midst of a social climate of anti-gang elimination. Some organizations still finance their business activities in the surface economy. However, the reality is that cases are rare and uncovered by law enforcement authorities.

To address this situation, Kanagawa Prefecture enacted in November 2022 a revised ordinance on mobsters with the same provisions as the revised Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s ordinance on mobsters, which stipulates penalties for those who provide profits to such organizations. Similar amendments are currently being considered in various regions. Further tightening of regulations and severe crackdowns by police authorities are expected in the future. On the other hand, gangs trying to survive should also find a way to make a go of it, and 2023 is likely to be a new dark battle with the police behind the scenes.