The Ghost

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Porn Industry in Japan

Before the 20th century

The concept of "pornography" may have emerged in the Edo period when every form of popular culture flourished, including pornography, with the sole exception of pornographic figures and statues. This does not mean there were no earlier works of erotica; these early works were by highly literate nobles and were often considered works of art. Japanese mythology, later formulated into the system known as Shinto, makes multiple references to sexuality, and almost always in a positive manner.
In the Edo period, pornography flourished due to the unique characteristic of the city. In this period, men (who were the only consumers of pornographic material at that time) made up well over 60% of the population. These men came from all over Japan to work, and remained there for years before returning to their hometown to have a wife arranged for them, having learned valuable skills like reading, writing, and crafts. With a disproportionate amount of the population being male, state-controlled prostitution districts like Yoshiwara and pornography were needed.
There were many pornographic materials. Shunga or pornographic wood-block pictures were printed with all imaginable situations. These often took the form of a book with sentences to describe verbal utterances of the partners, as well as to offer brief descriptions of a scene. Near the end of the Edo period when foreigners became widely known and seen, even interracial sex acts with foreign males were drawn and sold, not to mention acts with animals, demons (both male and female), and deities. The actual uses of shunga in the period are still debated, but probably resembled modern uses of pornographic materials, including masturbation and shared viewing with a lover. According to some accounts, called into doubt by recent scholarship, shunga were even packed by the parents of a wife for use in her marriage. Shunga could also be borrowed from a rental book shop. In 1808, there were 656 such shops in Edo, 300 shops in Osaka. This means that there was about one shop for every 1500 people in Edo. Non-pornographic materials were also available from these shops. These included woodblock pictures of celebrities like kabuki actors and geisha, clothed in kimono.
After the Meiji restoration in the second half of the 19th century, the publication of pornographic materials declined under government pressure, specifically the fear that such an openly sexual culture would be seen as a sign of backwardness by European countries. Yet even as Shunga production slowed, shunga were being exported and peddled as "erotic arts" to foreign markets. Pornographic novels were still produced underground, though the language barrier prevented them from becoming widely known abroad. Pornographic arts (now including photography) were still produced by popular demand, but these came to be viewed as low arts.

In the 20th century

In the late Taishō period and early Shōwa period, an artistic movement called Eroguronansensu, literally "erotic-grotesque-nonsense," occurred influenced by decadence works of Europe. These words were used because they had an air of a new and modern feeling. Until the 1950s, pornography were still very limited in production. Open sexual expressions were permitted in novels and manga, but a strict control was applied on photographs and films. During World War II, pornographic materials were banned altogether.
Influenced by magazines like Playboy, pornographic magazines were printed soon after World War II. These magazines quickly branched out to cover all genres and featured pornographic novels as well as pictures. Playboy itself, however, did not succeed in Japan. Its articles were about the American lifestyle; women were mostly non-Asian, interviews were with people largely unknown in Japan, and fashion and sport were American. Instead, it spawned a fetish and a genre known as Yomono, literally "Western things." Playboy revamped its articles and style in the early 2000s in Japan by having Japanese writers write exclusively about Japan and dropping most of the original content.
In the early 1960s, several movie studios began producing "Pink films," to be exclusively viewed in adults-only movie theaters. With censorship laws prohibiting genitals from being seen but otherwise free to express anything, these movies quickly diversified to fill all genres, including rape and bondage. Throughout the 1960s, the "pink films" were mainly produced by low-budget, independent filmmakers such as Koji Wakamatsu. In 1971, the major studio Nikkatsu entered the pink film genre with its higher production values through its Roman porno (lit. romantic porno) series. From the 1960s to the late 1980s, ambiguous censorship laws resulted in hundreds of cases regarding erotica and pornography. At midnight, television stations mostly aired soft-core pornographic movies until their ratings dropped due to the pornographic movies.

Starting in 1971, homosexually-oriented magazines began to appear. The first of these, Barazoku, began publication in 1971 and continued publishing until 2004. Homosexual magazines tend to be tailored to particular segments of the population, such as Badi, which features younger adult males, Samson, devoted to chubby men, and G-men, featuring muscular men. The websites of these magazines also feature videos produced featuring these respective body types.

The 1980s

The proliferation of pornographic videos in the 1980s commonly called AV, short for adult video, eventually greatly diminished the market for pornographic movie theaters. Rental video stores offered pornography at a price far below that of movie theaters. Because most Japanese families now had at least two television sets and VCRs, more videos were sold. It is rumored, but not supported, that VHS became popular over Betamax format because large numbers of AV were released in VHS format. Few AVs were sold in laserdisc format, but VCDs and later DVDs were used to distribute AV.
In 1983, the Nintendo Family Computer was released and a few pornographic games quickly followed. But Nintendo wanted these machines to be family-oriented, however, and it succeeded in getting pornographic games locked out of the market. Computer games with no limitation on content except for censorship laws became a popular way to distribute pornographic games. Early VCDs and DVDs were viewed on personal computers. Because so few Japanese people saw any reason to play games on these platforms, as opposed to video game consoles, playing computer games was sometimes viewed as being synonymous with playing Bishōjo games.
In the late 1980s, the Dōjinshi market expanded. It is estimated that about half of this market consists of pornography. Copyright problems plague the market, yet the dōjinshi market was a common place for one to start before making a debut in a professional magazine. Yaoi began in the dōjinshi market. From the mid 1990s, the dōjinshi market also began making and selling pornographic games.
In the 1980s, magazines oriented towards a mature male audience began to offer more explicit content. This was not immediately a major social issue because magazines oriented towards a mature female audience already existed and their content was in some ways more explicit.

The 1990s

According to John Carr, a United Kingdom government adviser on Internet safety policy for children, two-thirds of all pedophilic images on the Internet in the late 1990s may have originated in Japan. He further commented: "We think that child pornography, in any form, promotes values and sends the message that it is OK to sexually abuse children. It helps pedophiles to justify their ideas or behavior and it desensitizes society as a whole." Since the law against child pornography in 1999, the proportion is now believed to be less than 2%. ECPAT believes that many child pornography producers have simply turned to producing anime or films featuring adults dressed as children.

Laws and movements

Japanese pornography has diversified to fill a vast number of categories and needs, with some themes being so obscure that the appeals and differences are too subtle for anyone but the most devoted to recognize. These diversities occurred because of three major reasons: to entertain by developing new methods of expression, to fill niche markets, and to work around censorship laws. Neither religious conservatism nor feminism had been a powerful factor in pornography in Japan.

Censorship laws

The religious and social taboo against nudity has historically been weaker in Japan than in the West: "pillow books" detailing sexual acts were widely sold in the Edo era, and women and men routinely worked in the nude and bathed in public up to, and even after, the Meiji Restoration. While in Western society nudity has typically been a taboo, that idea entered Japan only after Meiji-era and how deep that idea is rooted is argued. Extreme public nudity, such as showing the genital area, would nevertheless be prosecuted in Japan (except in public baths). Japan has only had one or two nudist beaches, and these were private.

In Japan, under Article 175 of the Criminal Code of Japan people who sell or distribute obscene materials can be punished by fines or imprisonment. Article 175 was included in the original document in 1907 and remains relatively unchanged. Finding a workable definition for obscene has sparked much controversy over the last century. It is not uncommon for pictorial magazines to depict nude women with their genitalia airbrushed over in black, and video pornography routinely depicts explicit sex scenes with the participants' genitalia obscured by mosaics. Until the 1990s, the entire pubic region, including hair, was deemed obscene and unpublishable. The publication of Waterfruit and Santa Fe by Kishin Shinoyama marked the first widely distributed publications to feature pubic hair. Many video production companies belong to ethical associations which provide guidance on what is acceptable and what is not. NEVA and CERO are examples of two such organizations. In 2007, the police have started to prosecute webmasters who allow uncensored pictures on their sites. Recent controversies have frowned upon both pubic hair and even genitalia itself being displayed in works of art and in educational settings.
It is also illegal to bring pornographic material into Japan, and customs agents are known for checking videotapes in international mail and hand baggage. Extreme cases, like multiple offenders or attempts at commercial importation, could be punished by fines but most merely have their contraband confiscated. Applications of this law did not change in recent years, but more offenders are caught in recent years as checks became tighter to prevent the drug trade and terrorism.
There is also a thriving genre of underground pornography in Japan (called urabon) that ignores these censorship laws; it has become especially prevalent on the Internet, as there are no mechanisms in place to prevent its transmission from Japanese nationals to the outside world. On November 1, 1999, Japan introduced laws to outlaw child pornography in an attempt to converge with the U.S. and other western countries. Since then, "child" pornography has been limited to lolicon.

Religion and pornography

Religion is not a factor in the regulation of pornography in Japan. It is instead defined by consensus, due to the fact that the separation of religion and state was complete before the proliferation of pornography. In the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate limited religion to organizing ceremonies such as funerals and marriages, because during the Sengoku period, religions like Buddhism and Christianity served as ideological backbones to acts of rebellion. The shogunate prevented the participation of religious leaders in policy making.

Child pornography

Distribution, production, importing, exporting, and possessing for distribution of child pornography is banned with criminal punishment in Japan since 1999.
Possessing without distribution has been a disputed point since the establishment of the law.
In the Diet, the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito Party proposed to prohibit the possessing without distribution, the Democratic Party of Japan presented a counterproposal to prohibit the taking over from anyone. Since the House of Representatives of Japan was dissolved on July 21, 2009, the amendments to the law against child prostitution and child pornography on the table were withdrawn.

Prostitution

The demand for prostitutes has increased on a year-to-year basis. The sex industry now accounts for 1% of the GNP, and equals the Japanese defense budget.
The Japanese sex industry is a multibillion-dollar business that caters to every preference and is easily accessible. One "sex zone" in Tokyo, only 34 hectares in size, has 3,500 sex facilities, including strip theaters, peep shows, "soaplands," "lover's banks," porno shops, telephone clubs, karaoke bars, clubs, and the like. One third of all reported cases of prostitution are teenagers. Enjo kōsai, or "supportive relationship," is a type of compensated dating between older persons and teenagers which may include prostitution.
The Trafficking in Persons Report, released yearly by the U.S. State Department, has ranked Japan as Tier II on par with Cambodia and Ethiopia among others. This rank has remained relatively stable for the past decade.

Culture

Japanese pornographic culture is more widely accepted as part of mainstream media in comparison to the west. Thus in many cases, scenes acceptable to Japanese audiences are unacceptable in other countries. Ribaldry is quite common even in child-oriented materials and expressions that in most other cultures would not be acceptable for general audiences are shown without a warning. For example, in an early chapter of Dragon Ball, to find an invisible opponent, Muten-Rôshi is shown Bulma's bared breast, eliciting a fountaining nose bleed that drenches the invisible man.
Japanese erotica has many of the same themes as its western counterpart such as heterosexual and homosexual intercourse, group sex, and sexual bondage. Similarly to western erotica, the Japanese version may also portray various sexual fetishes such as foot fetishism, or a focus on a certain type of clothing such as uniforms or costumes as anime, manga or video game characters.

The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife by Hokusai.

Many genres of Japanese erotica evolved because of censorship laws. Tentacle rape, an animated portrayal of rape fantasies involving a human female and a science fiction-like creature, emerged as an alternative to depicting the penis in the 1980s, drawing inspiration from the tentacled creatures that started appearing in Japanese erotica in the Edo era. The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife, a wood print of a woman in a sexual act with a giant octopus, is one Edo example of tentacle sex. Tentacle rape became famous for its depiction in the anime Legend of the Overfiend.

Sub-genres of Japanese porn

The pornographic culture of Japan is enormous. Encompassing dozens of different genres only found in Japan, it has become an important part of life for many Japanese.To satisfy the demand for more arousal, many genres have popped up over the decades. Among those subgenres common in Japan, but rare or unknown elsewhere, are:
赤ちゃんプレイ（Aka-Chan Purei）: ("Baby play"): This genre involves going back to the "baby days" where they had no responsibility and could depend on their mothers to take care of everything.
バーチャルデート Baacharu Deito: ("Virtual dating"): Shot from the point of view of the boyfriend, the porn actress takes him on a "date" which ends in a sexual scene.
Broken Dolls: This is a subgenre based on the popular medical fetish and involves young girls in hospital beds, covered in casts, splints, gauze, and fake bruises. It usually involves rape and forced bondage.
ブルセラBurusera ("Bloomers"): Fans of this genre collect panties, urine, socks and uniforms of actual schoolgirls.
痴漢プレイChikan Purei ("Play Molester"): It involves usually schoolgirls sitting in a stage constructed to look like a train car and act submissive while being groped by anonymous male.
援助交際 Enjo kōsai ("Compensated dating"): Although available on video, this genre mainly applies to the market for girls 13–18 years of age. Girls are told they are going on a date, which, due to Japan's age of consent of 13, is not illegal.
強姦プレイGoukan Purei ("Rape play"): This genre involves simulated rape.
ロリコンLolicon (short for "Lolita complex"): This genre involves prepubescent and adolescent girls.
人形 Ningyou ("Dolls"): Some fans of animation like to play with dolls of their favorite characters.

Dōjin and parodies

Dōjinshi

Dōjinshi, or literally "fan works," are widely known as often being pornographic imitations of popular anime, games and manga. They are technically a violation of copyright law and can be prosecuted if the owner of copyrighted material chooses to have them prosecuted. But in many cases, owners officially ignore their existence. This attitude is at odds with the concept of copyright. However, this practice is common as it is a good way to measure how large the core of consumers are. For instance, the number of dōjinshi published is representative of the number of consumers who would spend liberally on the title, and increase and decrease shows rise of interest and its decline.

Anime

H anime

Animated erotica (known in the West as hentai, but in Japan as "adult anime") is a popular genre in Japan and generally maintains the same style of animation seen in other popular forms of Japanese animation (anime). Many of these anime are originally a game, manga, or a novel.

Games

Bishōjo game and H game

Adult-oriented games are a popular genre for computer games in Japan, comprising some 85% of all software titles published annually.The genre is somewhat unknown outside Japan because of several problems, cultural and translational, but their artworks are well known on internet websites often illegally copied and shown as "adult anime pictures." Known as "bishōjo games" or "pretty girl games" (alternately spelled "bishojo" or "bishoujo") in Japanese, the games are known under several names used by English fans, including PC dating-sim game, hentai game/H game, and so on. Companies such as Peach Princess, JAST USA and G-Collections are translating dating sims and visual novels into English for the fledgling market outside of Japan. For adult video games in Japan, the rating of "Z" was coined by the CERO, and has been so used since.

Internet

Fanfictions, commonly found in websites, are not limited to fictitious characters and often use real live people as well, though these works would make little sense to those who do not see Japanese TV programs. Dōjinshi writers typically use the Internet to market their products by offering previews of new works, a secret address where buyers can find additional works, and a sample of their games. They also recruit new writers and artists online. Several exclusively adult oriented search engines exist to let someone find a site they are looking for, without having to search through commercial websites that list all keywords. Many works of dōjinshi are featured in websites that collect the art and let people look for free.
Many websites feature seasonal greeting pictures, often pornographic, from linked sites and friends who frequent their sites. A typical Christmas greeting picture on such sites features a santa-girl in various stages of undressing. The twelve zodiac animals of Chinese astrology offer challenging and entertaining examples of Catgirl.

Japanese Adult Video proliferation

With the growing connectivity of the World Wide Web, JAV has received exponential growth in exposure to the West. With the growth of porn tube sites, many tube sites focus on the JAV niche, the most prominent in North America being sites like Youporn, and fast growing new JAV-only tube sites such as YouJAV.

Magazines

Magazines are, along with videos, popular media for pornographic materials. Unless a magazine contains pornographic manga or pictures, there is a no age requirement for its purchase. Many non-pornographic magazines have some glamour photography and as long as women are in something more than a swimsuit, it is considered a non-pornographic photograph. Several non-pornographic magazines have some nude photographs of women as a part of their articles but as long as they have an artistic quality and do not show men, it is not considered pornographic. Furthermore, a female and male doll may be partially clothed or even nude as long as it is a work of art and is not in an act of sex.
Confessional writings by both genders are a popular topic in men's and pornographic magazines. Quite often, these writings are fictional stories written by professional authors. Other popular topics in men's and pornographic magazines are erotic manga and novels, reviews of pornographic videos, and reports of sex services.
Women's magazines also have most of the writings of men's and pornographic magazines. Except for a few glamour photographs of men (who are usually clothed), they lack graphic pornographic contents. Few, if any, of magazines targeted for women are considered pornographic or have an age requirement as they lack any graphic content .

Manga

Video

Pornographic video (called "adult video" or "AV" in Japan or sometimes "Japanese adult video" or "JAV" outside of it) covers wide themes and its only limit is censorship laws.
Many videos have a title that may suggest that they use minors or the actual recording of a crime, but no titles that are circulated with the approval of Eirin, a self-censor organization of productions, break any laws. A common ploy is to have a part of a title replaced with a character, or to use a phonetically similar neologism. For example, a video about "19 years old girls Sex Party!" may be sold with a title like "1X years old Girls Sex Party!". The word Joshikosei (女子高生), lit. "High school girl," cannot be used as it would suggest a girl of 17 years or younger, who cannot legally act in a pornographic video. The homonymic neologism Joshikosei (女子校生), which can mean a "girl student," is used in many titles to promote the product without breaking censorship laws. This fact may be seen in popular places of Japan such as Akihabara or Den Den Town at Tokyo and Osaka respectively.
Japanese AV also caters to many more fetishes than might be imagined (or thought legal) by non-Japanese. Schoolgirl or uniform themed AV dovetails with the aforementioned "non-consensual" genre—rape (レイプ reipu)—are common. SM, rope bondage, bestiality, virgins, internal male climax or cream-pies (中出し nakadashi), lesbians (レズ rezu), along with more eccentric fetishes (soap, office ladies, game shows) are all covered.

Impacts on other cultures

Copyright infringement has created a problem in places where legal copies are purchased such as Asia, the U.S. and Europe. To avoid spending money on hiring translators for conversations that often precede an act of sex, it has become normal to cut and piece together a video filled with various scenes of sex and nothing else. Further, to avoid the need for explaining a scene, especially on infringing copies in countries where violence in pornography is heavily censored, videos with simulated rape scenes became a niche of Japanese pornography.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Human Trafficking in Japan

Japan is a destination and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women and children trafficked to Japan for commercial sexual exploitation come from the People’s Republic of China, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Russia, and, to a lesser extent, Latin America. Japan is a transit country for persons trafficked from East Asia to North America. The majority of identified trafficking victims are foreign women who migrate to Japan seeking work, but are subjected upon arrival to debt bondage and forced prostitution. Male and female migrant workers are subjected to conditions of forced labor. Traffickers use debt bondage to exploit women in Japan’s large sex trade, imposing debts of up to $50,000. In addition, trafficked women are subjected to coercive or violent physical and psychological methods to prevent them from seeking assistance or escaping. Traffickers also target Japanese women and girls for exploitation in pornography or prostitution. Many female victims, both foreign and Japanese, are reluctant to seek help from authorities for fear of reprisals by their traffickers, who are often members or associates of Japanese organized crime syndicates (the Yakuza). Japanese men continue to be a significant source of demand for child sex tourism in Southeast Asia.
The Government of Japan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. While Japan continued to implement reforms through its Inter-Ministerial Liaison Committee on trafficking in persons, the government’s efforts to identify and protect victims of trafficking remained inadequate. In addition, prosecutions decreased from the previous year. Law enforcement authorities and other officials did not systematically employ formal victim identification procedures, resulting in the government’s failure to recognize many trafficking victims. The number of victims identified and assisted by Japanese authorities fell for the second year in a row, but based on calls to victim hotlines and interviews with victims, NGOs and researchers believe the number of actual victims exceeds government statistics. Some observers attribute the decline in identified victims to the difficulty of investigating sex businesses that are increasingly moving underground due to police crackdowns on red-light districts in major cities. This increased pressure from law enforcement has eliminated visible prostitution and forced many sex businesses to thinly disguise prostitution as “delivery health” (escort) services.

Prosecution

There was no improvement in the Government of Japan’s efforts to address sex trafficking through law enforcement during the reporting period, and the government failed to address the problem of trafficking for labor exploitation. Prosecutions for sex trafficking decreased in 2007, as 11 sex trafficking cases were prosecuted, and 12 trafficking offenders were convicted, compared to 17 prosecutions and 15 convictions in 2006. Of the 12 convictions in 2007, seven offenders received prison sentences of two to four years with labor; five offenders received suspended sentences. The only labor trafficking convictions in 2007 were for two cases prosecuted under the Labor Standards Law. While Japan does not have a comprehensive anti-trafficking law, a variety of laws, including the 2005 amendment to the criminal code, the Labor Standards Law, the Employment Security Law, the Prostitution Prevention Law, the Child Welfare Law, and the Law for Punishing Acts related to Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, cover most, but not all forms of trafficking. Specifically, Japanese law does not prohibit recruitment of laborers using knowingly fraudulent or deceptive offers for purposes of forced labor. Labor exploitation was widely reported by labor activists, NGOs, shelters, and the media. The Immigration Bureau and Labor Standard Inspection Bodies reported hundreds of abuses of the Industrial Trainee and Technical Internship Program (the “foreign trainee program”). Reported abuses included fraudulent terms of employment, debt bondage, restrictions on movement, and withholding of salary payments. While the majority of companies employ foreign trainees appropriately, participants in the first year of the three-year program were not protected by labor laws and were therefore vulnerable to trafficking. In addition, such exploitation was not limited to participants in the first year of the program. There were only two convictions for labor trafficking during the past two years despite Labor Standard Inspection Bodies having identified more than 1,209 violations of labor laws in 2006 alone, indicating a serious lack of will by the government to enforce these laws. The government did make some efforts to address oversight of the foreign trainee program. The Ministry of Justice released a list of prohibited acts to govern the program, but there were no criminal penalties for companies found in violation of the regulations. The Cabinet approved provisions to reform the program, including applying the Labor Standards Law to the first year; but, these provisions had not yet taken effect or even been debated by the Diet during the reporting period. These measures are unlikely to have any effect on the problem without a significant increase in enforcement of labor laws.^[1]

Protection

Despite the government’s increased efforts, victim protection remained inadequate during the reporting period. The number of trafficking victims identified by the Japanese government declined for the second consecutive year. Law enforcement authorities identified 43 victims in 2007, down from 58 in 2006 and 116 in 2005. This number is disproportionately low relative to the suspected magnitude of Japan’s trafficking problem. Although some observers speculate there are fewer victims identified because sex trafficking may have decreased in Japan, it is more likely the move of many sex businesses underground has made it more difficult for police to investigate and rescue potential victims. NGOs working with trafficking victims continue to assert the government is not proactive in searching for victims among vulnerable populations such as foreign women in the sex trade or migrant laborers. Of particular concern was the Japanese government’s repatriation of 16 of the 43 identified trafficking victims without referring them to IOM for risk assessment and formal repatriation processing. Although police and immigration authorities take part in regular training programs, Japan has not adopted formal victim identification procedures, nor does it dedicate government law enforcement or social services personnel specifically to the human trafficking issue. During the reporting period, police and immigration authorities failed to consistently identify trafficking victims. Officials from third-country embassies reported Japanese police and immigration officers failed to recognize their citizens as trafficking victims, forcing the embassies to take charge of victim repatriation. In addition, the government did not recognize any victims of labor trafficking during the reporting period in spite of widespread reports of labor exploitation by both official and private entities. Forty of the 43 identified trafficking victims in 2007 were provided services by government shelters— Women’s Consulting Centers (WCCs)—located in each of Japan’s 47 prefectures. The victims had access to subsidized medical care and some victims received psychological care while in the WCCs. However, the large majority of trafficking victims did not have adequate access to trained psychological counselors with native language ability, a weakness the Japanese government is now beginning to address. The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare surveyed the NGO community to identify interpreters with experience or training in providing counseling and psychological care to victims of trafficking, and has begun to make this information accessible to WCCs nationwide. Although the government asserts that legal assistance is available to all trafficking victims, a survey of WCC operators indicated that neither WCC staff nor victims were consistently aware free legal assistance was available. To date there have been no cases where the government actually provided legal assistance to a trafficking victim. Although victims were eligible for special stay status as a legal alternative to repatriation in cases where victims would face hardship or retribution, NGOs report most victims were unaware they could extend this status or apply for a change of status to one which permits employment. Moreover, there has never been a case of a victim staying in Japan for more than a few months. The lack of native language counseling, the isolation of victims from fellow nationals and other trafficking victims, and the lack of alternatives—particularly any option to work or generate income while in Japan—led most victims to choose an expeditious repatriation to their home country. Although the government encouraged victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking crimes, it did not provide victims with an environment conducive to cooperation. Japan gave $300,000 to IOM in 2007 for repatriation and reintegration assistance, and budgets about $100,000 each year for subsidizing victims’ care in private NGO shelters that specialize in assisting trafficking victims.

Prevention

The Government of Japan demonstrated strong efforts to raise awareness about some forms of trafficking during the reporting period. The government took efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sexual exploitation through the distribution of 500,000 brochures on the trauma of trafficking, government anti-trafficking efforts, and how to receive victim assistance. The government also produced 25,000 trafficking awareness posters portraying the link between prostitution and trafficking in persons. The posters and brochures were distributed to immigration offices, police stations, and foreign embassies and consulates throughout Japan. The government donated $79,000 to a Thai NGO to construct a dormitory for Thai students vulnerable to trafficking. A significant number of Japanese men continue to travel to other Asian countries, particularly the Philippines, Cambodia, and Thailand, to engage in sex with children. Although the Act on Punishment of Activities Relating to Child Prostitution and Child Pornography and the Protection of Children provides Japanese courts with extraterritorial jurisdiction over Japanese nationals who have sexual intercourse with a minor in a foreign country, the government has not prosecuted a Japanese national for child sex tourism since 2005. During the reporting period, the government did not take any steps to specifically reduce the demand for child sex tourism by Japanese nationals. Japanese law does not criminalize the possession of child pornography, and this continues to contribute to the demand for commercial sexual exploitation of children and child sex tourism. According to National Police Agency statistics, 773 Japanese children were either prostituted or exploited in child pornography during the first half of 2007. Japan has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol

Friday, June 11, 2010

The Yakuza

Yazuka (ヤクザ or やくざ ?), also known as {{nihongo|gokudō|極道}or yakuza} are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police call them bōryokudan (暴力団), literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" (任侠団体 (or 仁侠団体), "chivalrous organizations").

Origin

Despite uncertainty about the single origin of Yakuza organizations, most modern Yakuza derive from two classifications which emerged in the mid-Edo Period: tekiya, those who primarily peddled illicit, stolen or shoddy goods; and bakuto, those who were involved in or participated in gambling.[1]

Tekiya (peddlers) were considered one of the lowest social groups in Edo. As they began to form organizations of their own, they took over some administrative duties relating to commerce, such as stall allocation and protection of their commercial activities. During Shinto festivals, these peddlers opened stalls and some members were hired to act as security. Each peddler paid rent in exchange for a stall assignment and protection during the fair.

The Edo government eventually formally recognized such tekiya organizations and granted the oyabun (servants) of tekiya a surname as well as permission to carry a sword. This was a major step forward for the traders, as formerly only samurai and noblemen were allowed to carry swords.

Bakuto (gamblers) had a much lower social standing even than traders, as gambling was illegal. Many small gambling houses cropped up in abandoned temples or shrines at the edge of towns and villages all over Japan. Most of these gambling houses ran loan sharking businesses for clients, and they usually maintained their own security personnel.

The places themselves, as well as the bakuto, were regarded with disdain by society at large, and much of the undesirable image of the Yakuza originates from bakuto; this includes the name yakuza itself (ya-ku-za, or 8-9-3, is a losing hand in Oicho-Kabu, a form of blackjack).

Because of the economic situation during the mid-period and the predominance of the merchant class, developing Yakuza groups were composed of misfits and delinquents that had joined or formed Yakuza groups to extort customers in local markets by selling fake or shoddy goods.[1]

The roots of the Yakuza can still be seen today in initiation ceremonies, which incorporate tekiya or bakuto rituals. Although the modern Yakuza has diversified, some gangs still identify with one group or the other; for example, a gang whose primary source of income is illegal gambling may refer to themselves as bakuto.

Burakumin

The Burakumin are a group that is socially discriminated against in Japanese society. The burakumin are descendants of outcast communities of the feudal era, which mainly comprised those with occupations considered tainted with death or ritual impurity, such as executioners, undertakers or leather workers. They traditionally lived in their own secluded hamlets and ghettos. Discrimination against the Burakumin continues into the present day, a legacy of the Japanese feudal/caste system.

According to David E. Kaplan and Alec Dubro, burakumin account for about 70 percent of the members of Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest Yakuza syndicate in Japan.

Mitsuhiro Suganuma, ex-officer of the Public Security Intelligence Agency, testified that burakumin account for about 60 percent of the members of the entire Yakuza.

Organization and activities

Yakuza hierarchy

During the formation of the yakuza, they adopted the traditional Japanese hierarchical structure of oyabun-kobun where kobun (子分; lit. foster child) owe their allegiance to the oyabun (親分; lit. foster parent). In a much later period, the code of jingi (仁義, justice and duty) was developed where loyalty and respect are a way of life.

The oyabun-kobun relationship is formalized by ceremonial sharing of sake from a single cup. This ritual is not exclusive to the yakuza—it is also commonly performed in traditional Japanese Shinto weddings, and may have been a part of sworn brotherhood[4] relationships.

During the World War II period in Japan, the more traditional tekiya/bakuto form of organization declined as the entire population was mobilised to participate in the war effort and society came under strict military government. However, after the war, the yakuza adapted again.

Prospective yakuza come from all walks of life. The most romantic tales tell how yakuza accept sons who have been abandoned or exiled by their parents. Many yakuza start out in junior high school or high school as common street thugs or members of bōsōzoku gangs. Perhaps because of its lower socio-economic status, numerous yakuza members come from Burakumin and ethnic Korean backgrounds.

Yakuza groups are headed by an Oyabun or Kumichō (組長, family head) who gives orders to his subordinates, the kobun. In this respect, the organization is a variation of the traditional Japanese senpai-kōhai (senior-junior) model. Members of yakuza gangs cut their family ties and transfer their loyalty to the gang boss. They refer to each other as family members - fathers and elder and younger brothers. The Yakuza is populated almost entirely by men, and there are very few women involved who are called "nee-san" (姐さん older sister). When the Yamaguchi-gumi (Family) boss (Kazuo Taoka) was shot in the early 1980s, his wife (Fumiko) took over as boss of Yamaguchi-gumi, albeit for a short time.

The Yakuza have a very complex organizational structure. There is an overall boss of the syndicate, the kumicho, and directly beneath him are the saiko komon (senior advisor) and so-honbucho (headquarters chief). The second in the chain of command is the wakagashira, who governs several gangs in a region with the help of a fuku-honbucho who is himself responsible for several gangs. The regional gangs themselves are governed by their local boss, the shateigashira.

Each member's connection is ranked by the hierarchy of sakazuki (sake sharing). Kumicho are at the top, and control various saikō-komon (最高顧問, senior advisors). The saikō-komon control their own turfs in different areas or cities. They have their own underlings, including other underbosses, advisors, accountants and enforcers.

Those who have received sake from oyabun are part of the immediate family and ranked in terms of elder or younger brothers. However, each kobun, in turn, can offer sakazuki as oyabun to his underling to form an affiliated organization, which might in turn form lower ranked organisations. In the Yamaguchi-gumi, which controls some 2,500 businesses and 500 yakuza groups, there are even 5th rank subsidiary organizations.

Rituals

Yubitsume, or the cutting of one's finger, is a form of penance or apology. Upon a first offence, the transgressor must cut off the tip of his left little finger and hand the severed portion to his boss. Sometimes an underboss may do this in penance to the oyabun if he wants to spare a member of his own gang from further retaliation.

Its origin stems from the traditional way of holding a Japanese sword. The bottom three fingers of each hand are used to grip the sword tightly, with the thumb and index fingers slightly loose. The removal of digits starting with the little finger moving up the hand to the index finger progressively weakens a person's sword grip.

The idea is that a person with a weak sword grip then has to rely more on the group for protection—reducing individual action. In recent years, prosthetic fingertips have been developed to disguise this distinctive appearance.

Many Yakuza have full-body tattoos. These tattoos, known as irezumi in Japan, are still often "hand-poked", that is, the ink is inserted beneath the skin using non-electrical, hand-made and hand held tools with needles of sharpened bamboo or steel. The procedure is expensive and painful and can take years to complete.

When yakuza members play Oicho-Kabu cards with each other, they often remove their shirts or open them up and drape them around their waists. This allows them to display their full-body tattoos to each other. This is one of the few times that yakuza members display their tattoos to others, as they normally keep them concealed in public with long-sleeved and high-necked shirts.

Principal families

Although yakuza membership has declined following an antigang law aimed specifically at yakuza and passed by the Japanese government in 1992, there are thought to be more than 87,000 active yakuza members in Japan today. Although there are many different Yakuza groups, together they form the largest organized crime group in the world. Most yakuza members belong to five principal families (see below.)
Principal families Description Mon (crest)
Yamaguchi-gumi

(六代目山口組, Rokudaime Yamaguchi-gumi?) Created in 1915, the Yamaguchi-gumi is the biggest yakuza family, 50% of all yakuza in Japan, with more than 55,000 members divided into 850 clans. Despite more than one decade of police repression, the Yamaguchi-gumi has continued to grow. From its headquarters in Kobe, it directs criminal activities throughout Japan. It is also involved in operations in Asia and the United States. Shinobu Tsukasa, also known as Kenichi Shinoda, is the Yamaguchi-gumi's current oyabun. He follows an expansionist policy, and has increased operations in Tokyo (which has not traditionally been the territory of the Yamaguchi-gumi.) Yamabishi.svg

Yamabishi (山菱)
Sumiyoshi-rengo

(住吉連合?), sometimes known as Sumiyoshi-kai (住吉会?) The Sumiyoshi-rengo is the second largest yakuza family, with 20,000 members divided into 277 clans. The Sumiyoshi-kai, as it is sometimes called, is a confederation of smaller yakuza groups. Its current oyabun is Shigeo Nishiguchi. Structurally, Sumiyoshi-kai differs from its principal rival, the Yamaguchi-gumi, in that it functions like a federation. The chain of command is more lax, and although Shigeo Nishiguchi is always the supreme oyabun, its leadership is distributed among several other people. Sumiyoshi-kai.svg
Inagawa-kai
(稲川会?) The Inagawa-kaï is the third largest yakuza family in Japan, with roughly 15,000 members divided into 313 clans. It is based in the Tokyo-Yokohama area and was one of the first yakuza families to expand its operations to outside of Japan. Its current oyabun is Hideki Inagawa. Inagawa-kai.svg

Aizukotetsu-kai

(六代目会津小鉄会?) The Aizukotetsu-kai is based in Kyoto, is Japan's sixth-largest yakuza organization. Its name comes from the Aizu region, "Kotetsu", a type of Japanese sword, and the suffix "-kai", or society.Rather than a stand-alone gang, the Aizukotetsu-kai is a federation of approximately 100 of Kyoto's various yakuza groups, comprising an estimated 7,000 members.In October 2005, the group formed an alliance with the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza gang.Its current oyabun is Mitsugu Baba. Aizukotetsu-kai.png
Toua Yuai Jigyo Kumiai
(東亜友愛事業組合?), sometimes called Tōa-kai (東亜会?) Founded in 1948 by Hisayuki Machii, an ethnic Korean, the Tao Yuai Jigyo Kumiai yakuza family quickly became one of most influential yakuza groups in Tokyo, especially Ginza and Roppongi. It is composed of yakuza of Korean origin, and numbers more than 5,400 divided into 10 clans. Its current oyabun is Satoru Nomura. Toua Yuai Jigyo Kumiai.svg
[edit] Designated bōryokudan

Designated bōryokudan (指定暴力団 Shitei Bōryokudan) is large area group specified by Anti-Gangs Measures Law of Japan.

The numbers which precede the names of bōryokudan groups refer to the group's leadership. For example, Yoshinori Watanabe headed the fifth Yamaguchi-gumi; on his retirement, Shinobu Tsukasa became head of the sixth Yamaguchi-gumi, and "Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi" is the group's formal name.

* Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi (六代目山口組), led by Shinobu Tsukasa, designated from June, 1992
* Inagawa-kai (稲川会), designated from June, 1992

* Sumiyoshi-kai (住吉会), designated from June, 1992
* Fourth Kudō-kai (四代目工藤會), designated from June, 1992
* Third Kyokuryū-kai (三代目旭琉会), designated from June, 1992
* Okinawa Kyokuryū-kai (沖縄旭琉会), designated from June, 1992
* Fifth Aizukotetsu-kai (五代目会津小鉄会), designated from July, 1992
* Fifth Kyōsei-kai (五代目共政会), designated from July, 1992
* Sixth Gōda-ikka (六代目合田一家), designated from July, 1992
* Fourth Kozakura-ikka (四代目小桜一家), designated from July, 1992
* Third Asano-gumi (三代目浅野組), designated from December, 1992
* Dōjin-kai (道仁会), designated from December, 1992
* Second Shinwa-kai (二代目親和会), designated from December, 1992
* Sōai-kai (双愛会), designated from December, 1992
* Third Kyōdō-kai (三代目俠道会), designated from March, 1993
* Taishū-kai (太州会), designated from March, 1993
* Seventh Sakaume-gumi (七代目酒梅組), designated from May, 1993
* Kyokutō-kai (極東会), designated from July, 1993
* Azuma-gumi (東組), designated from August, 1993
* Matsuba-kai (松葉会), designated from February, 1994
* Third Fukuhaku-kai (三代目福博会), designated from February, 2000
* Second Kyūshū Seidō-kai (二代目九州誠道会), designated from February, 2008

Other Bōryokudan

* Fifth Yoriibunke (寄居分家五代目)
* Seventh Yoshiha-kai (七代目吉羽会)
* Takezawa-kai (竹澤会)
* Tōa-kai (東亜会)
* Eighth Ījima-kai (八代目飯島会)
* Chojiya-kai (丁字家会)
* Anegasaki-kai (姉ヶ崎会)
* Masuya-kai (桝屋会)
* Sugitō-kai (杉東会)
* Tokyōyasuda-kai (東京安田会)
* Shinmon-rengōkai (新門連合会)
* Jōshūya-kai (上州家会)
* Kawaguchiya-kai (川口家会)
* Daigo-kai (醍醐会)
* Hashiya-kai (箸家会)
* Hanamata-kai (花又会)
* Tokyōryōgokuya (東京両國家)
* Okaniwa-kai (岡庭会)
* Shitayahanajima-kai (下谷花島会)
* Seventh Tenjin'yama (天神山七代目)
* Fifth Matsuzakaya-ikka (五代目松坂屋一家)
* Ametoku-rengokai (飴徳連合会)
* Yokohamakaneko-kai (横浜金子会)
* Tokuriki-ikka (徳力一家)
* Tomura-kai (戸村会)
* Sakurai-sōke (櫻井總家)
* Chūkyōshinnō-kai (中京神農会)
* Marutomi-rengōkai (丸富連合会)
* Naoshimadōyu-kai (直嶋同友会)
* Chūsei-kai (忠成会)
* Second Matsuura-gumi (二代目松浦組)
* Second Takenaka-gumi (二代目竹中組)
* Second Chūgokutakagi-kai (二代目中国高木会)
* Third Murakami-gumi (九州三代目村上組)
* Second Kumamoto-kai (二代目熊本會)

[edit] Current activities
[edit] Japan
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Much of the current activities of the yakuza can be understood in the light of their feudal origin. First, they are not a secret society like their counterparts of the Italian mafia and Chinese triads. Yakuza organizations often have an office with a wooden board on the front door, openly displaying their group name or emblem.

Members often wear sunglasses and colourful suits so that their profession can be immediately recognized by civilians (katagi). Even the way many Yakuza walk is different from ordinary citizens. Their arrogant, wide gait is markedly different from the quiet, unassuming way many Japanese prefer to adopt. Alternatively, Yakuza can dress more conservatively and flash their tattoos to indicate their affiliation when the need arises.
Sign outside a Sento in Kamata, prohibiting tattooed guests.

On occasion, they also sport insignia pins on their lapels. One Yakuza family even printed a monthly newsletter with details on prisons, weddings, funerals, murders, and poems by leaders.

Until recently, the majority of Yakuza income came from protection rackets in shopping, entertainment and red-light districts within their territory. This is mainly due to the reluctance of such businesses to seek help from the police. The Japanese police are also reluctant to interfere in internal matters in recognized communities such as shopping arcades, schools/universities, night districts and so on.

In this sense, yakuza are still regarded as semi-legitimate organizations. For example, immediately after the Kobe earthquake, the Yamaguchi-gumi, whose headquarters are in Kobe, mobilized itself to provide disaster relief services (including the use of a helicopter), and this was widely reported by the media as a contrast to the much slower response by the Japanese government. For this reason, many Yakuza regard their income and hustle (shinogi) as a collection of a feudal tax.

Yakuza are heavily involved in sex-related industries, such as smuggling uncensored pornography from Europe and America into Japan (as the local pornography is censored in ways Western pornography is not). They also control large prostitution rings throughout the country. In China, where the law restricts the number of children per household and the cultural preference is for boys, the yakuza can buy unwanted girls for as little as $5,000 and put them to work in the mizu shōbai, which means water trade and refers to the night entertainment business, in yakuza-controlled bars, nightclubs and restaurants.

The Philippines is another source of young women. Yakuza trick girls from impoverished villages into coming to Japan, where they are promised respectable jobs with good wages. Instead, they are forced into becoming prostitutes and strippers.[7]
The alleys and streets of Shinjuku are a popular modern Tokyo Yakuza hangout.

Yakuza frequently engage in a uniquely Japanese form of extortion, known as sōkaiya (総会屋). In essence, this is a specialized form of protection racket. Instead of harassing small businesses, the yakuza harasses a stockholders' meeting of a larger corporation. They simply scare the ordinary stockholder with the presence of yakuza operatives, who obtain the right to attend the meeting by a small purchase of stock.

They also engage in simple blackmail, obtaining incriminating or embarrassing information about a company's practices or leaders. Once the yakuza gain a foothold in these companies, they will work for them to protect the company from having such internal scandals exposed to the public. Some companies still include payoffs as part of their annual budget.

The Yakuza have a strong influence in Japanese professional wrestling, or puroresu. Most of their interest in wrestling activities and promotions is purely financial. The Yakuza have mostly gotten involved by financially supporting wrestling promotions with fading fortunes, or simple business loans.

Many venues used by wrestling (arenas, stadiums, and so forth) are owned by or connected to the Yakuza, and as such, when a promotion uses one of their sites, the Yakuza receive a percentage of the gate. The Yakuza as a whole is regarded as a great supporter of both puroresu and MMA.

It's not unusual for wrestlers to receive specific instructions on what to do in their matches so as to appeal just to Yakuza members in the crowd. It is thought in Japan that it is safe to say that none of the large wrestling promotions in Japan would fold, because they would be rescued by the Yakuza.

The pioneer of wrestling in Japan, Rikidōzan, was killed by the Yakuza. Former WWE wrestler Yoshihiro Tajiri was asked to start a Yakuza gimmick, an offer he quickly refused, fearing that he would be targeted by the real Yakuza. Professional wrestler Yoshiaki Fujiwara is often referred to as Kumicho (i.e., "Godfather") and his wrestling promotion was called the Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi. He often portrays Yakuza figures as an actor on Japanese television comedies and dramas.

Yakuza also have ties to the Japanese realty market and banking, through jiageya (地上げ屋). Jiageya specialize in inducing holders of small real estate to sell their property so that estate companies can carry out much larger development plans. Japan's bubble economy of the 1980s is often blamed on real estate speculation by banking subsidiaries. After the collapse of the Japanese property bubble, a manager of a major bank in Nagoya was assassinated, and much speculation ensued about the banking industry's indirect connection to the Japanese underworld.
Yakuza often take part in local festivals such as Sanja Matsuri where they often carry the shrine through the streets proudly showing off their elaborate tattoos.

Yakuza have been known to make large investments in legitimate, mainstream companies. In 1989, Susumu Ishii, the Oyabun of the Inagawa-kai (a well known Yakuza group) bought US$ 255 million worth of Tokyo Kyuko Electric Railway's stock.[8] Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission has knowledge of more than 50 listed companies with ties to organized crime, and in March 2008, the Osaka Securities Exchange decided to review all listed companies and expel those with Yakuza ties.[9]

As a matter of principle, theft is not recognised as a legitimate activity of yakuza. This is in line with the idea that their activities are semi-open; theft by definition would be a covert activity. More importantly, such an act would be considered a trespass by the community. Also, yakuza usually do not conduct the actual business operation by themselves. Core business activities such as merchandising, loan sharking or management of gambling houses are typically managed by non-yakuza members who pay protection fees for their activities.

There is much evidence of Yakuza involvement in international crime. There are many tattooed Yakuza members imprisoned in various Asian prisons for such crimes as drug trafficking and arms smuggling. In 1997, one verified Yakuza member was caught smuggling 4 kilograms (8.82 pounds) of heroin into Canada.

In 1999, Italian-American Mafia Bonanno family member, Mickey Zaffarano, was overheard talking about the profits of the pornography trade that both families could profit from.[10] Another Yakuza racket is bringing women of other ethnicities/races, especially East European[10] and Asian[10] to Japan under the lure of a glamorous position, then forcing the women into prostitution.[citation needed]

Because of their history as a legitimate feudal organization and their connection to the Japanese political system through the uyoku (extreme right-wing political groups), yakuza are somewhat a part of the Japanese establishment. In the early 80s in Fukuoka, a yakuza war spiraled out of control and a few civilians were hurt. The police stepped in and forced the yakuza bosses on both sides to declare a truce in public. At various times, people in Japanese cities have launched anti-yakuza campaigns with mixed and varied success. In March 1995, the Japanese government passed the Act for Prevention of Unlawful Activities by Criminal Gang Members which made traditional racketeering much more difficult.
[edit] United States

The Yakuza have had presences in Los Angeles,[11] San Francisco,[12] Seattle,[12] Las Vegas,[11] Arizona,[12] Virginia,[12] and New York City.[11]

Yakuza activity in the United States is mostly relegated to Hawaii, but have made their presence known in other parts of the country. The Yakuza are said to use Hawaii as a way station between Japan and mainland America, smuggling crystal methamphetamine into the country and smuggling back firearms to Japan. They easily fit into the local population, since many tourists from Japan and other Asian countries visit the islands on a regular basis, and many Hawaii residents are of full or partial Japanese descent. They also work with local gangs, funneling Japanese tourists to gambling parlors and brothels.[11]

In California, the Yakuza have made alliances with local Vietnamese and Korean gangs as well as Chinese triads. In New York City, they appear to collect finders fees from American mafiosos and businessmen for guiding Japanese tourists to gambling establishments, both legal and illegal.[11]

Handguns manufactured in the U.S. account for a large share (33%) of handguns seized in Japan, followed by China (16%), and the Philippines (10%). In 1990, a Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver that cost $275 in the U.S. could sell for up to $4,000 in Tokyo, and by 1997 it could sell for $500 due to the proliferation of guns in Japan during the 1990s.[12]

The FBI suspects that the Yakuza use various operations to launder money in the U.S.[9]

In 2001, the FBI's representative in Tokyo arranged for Tadamasa Goto, the head of the group Goto-gumi, to receive a liver transplant in the United States, in return for information of Yamaguchi-gumi operations in the U.S. This was done without prior consultation of the NPA. The journalist who uncovered the deal received threats by Goto and was given police protection in the US and in Japan.[9]
[edit] Mexico

Yakuza in Mexico are most notably involved in illegal immigration. There were cases in the 1990s of Yakuza recruiting young women (mainly with diplomas and good English knowledge) with promises of legitimate work in Japan.[citation needed] When the women arrived in Japan they were forced into prostitution. Some women were able to escape their employers and return home to Mexico and alert authorities. In some incidents, Mexican authorities were able to apprehend the Yakuza members and deported them as illegal immigrants.

Similar incidents have also occurred in Peru where women have been enticed to work in Japan. The Association of Hispanic Women Against Discrimination and Gender Violence or "Women in Action" estimates nearly 3,000 Mexican women recruited by the various Yakuza clans prostitute themselves in Japan.[citation needed]
[edit] Ethnic Korean yakuza
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While Koreans in Japan comprise only 0.5% of the population, they are a prominent part of Yakuza, despite or perhaps because Koreans suffer severe discrimination in Japanese society along with burakumin.[13][14] In the early 1990s, 18 of 90 top bosses of Inagawa-kai were ethnic Koreans. National Police Agency (Japan) suggested Koreans comprised 10% along with 70% of burakumin in Yamaguchi-gumi.[13] Some of the representatives of the designated Bōryokudan are also.[15] The Korean significance had been an untouchable taboo in Japan and one of the reasons that the Japanese version of Kaplan and Dubro's Yakuza (1986) had not been published until 1991 with deletion of Korean-related description such as the component of Yamaguchi-gumi.[16]

Although Japanese-born people of Korean ancestry are a significant segment of the Japanese population, they are still considered resident aliens because of their nationality. But Koreans, who are often shunned in legitimate trades, are embraced by the Japanese yakuza precisely because they fit the group's "outsider" image.[17]

The man who paved the way for Korean-Japanese in Japan by organizing Tōsei-kai was the Korean-Japanese yakuza godfather Hisayuki Machii.[18] Born Chong Gwon Yong in 1923 in Korea under Japanese rule, Machii was an ambitious street hood who saw opportunity in Japan and seized it.

After the Japanese surrender, Machii worked with the United States Counter Intelligence Corps, which valued his staunch anti-communist beliefs. While leaders of the Japanese yakuza were imprisoned or under close scrutiny by the American occupying forces, the Korean yakuza were free to take over the lucrative black markets. But rather than trying to rival the Japanese godfathers, Machii made alliances with them, and throughout his career, he remained close to both Kodama and Taoka.[18]

In 1948, Machii established the Tosei-kai (Voice of the East Gang) and soon took over Tokyo's Ginza district. The Tosei-kai became so powerful in Tokyo that they were known as the Ginza police, and even the Yamaguchi-gumi's all-powerful Taoka had to cut a deal with Machii to allow that group to operate in Tokyo.

Machii's vast empire included tourism, entertainment, bars and restaurants, prostitution, and oil importing. He and Kodama made a fortune on real estate investments alone. More importantly, he brokered deals between the Korean government and the yakuza that allowed Japanese criminals to set up rackets in Korea.

Thanks to Machii, Korea became the yakuza's home away from home. Befitting his role as fixer between the underworlds of both countries, Machii was allowed to acquire the largest ferry service between Shimonoseki, Japan, and Busan, South Korea—the shortest route between the two countries.

In the mid-1960s, pressure from the police forced Machii to officially disband the Tosei-kai. He formed two supposedly legitimate organizations around this time, the Toa Sogo Kigyo (East Asia Enterprises Company) and Toa Yuai Jigyo Kumiai (East Asia Friendship Enterprises Association), which became fronts for his criminal activities.

He was widely believed to have helped the Korean Central Intelligence Agency kidnap then-leading Korean opposition leader Kim Dae Jung from a Tokyo hotel (see kidnapping of Kim Dae-Jung). Kim was whisked out to sea where he was bound, gagged, blindfolded and fitted with weights so that his body would never surface.

The execution by drowning was abruptly cancelled when an aircraft buzzed the ship, and Kim was mysteriously delivered to his neighborhood in Seoul. American intervention is said to have saved his life. A police investigation revealed that Machii's people had rented every other room on the floor of the hotel where Kim had been staying, but Machii was never charged with any crime in connection with kidnapping. Machii "retired" in his 80s and was frequently seen vacationing in Hawaii. He died on September 14, 2002.

Also, Tokutaro Takayama was the kaicho of the Fourth Aizukotetsu yakuza gang. An ethnic Korean, he rose to power as the head of the Kyoto-based gang until his retirement in the 1990s.

Real Time Blog in Kabukicho

The following is an experiment that I did. I decided to head down to one of my favorite place to hang out. It is the 24 hour Mcdonalds in Kabukicho. I usually head there in the mornings since I am an early riser and my wife complains that I disturb her sleep.

5:00 am: I am an early riser. My wife and two kids usually sleep until 8:00 am

5:30 am: I get changed and get ready to head out. She has been complaining lately that I get up too early and that I disturb her sleep patterns. I decided to grab my laptop this time since I knew that the entertainment factor was better than anything on TV.

5:40 am: I am walking down the street on my way to my favorite morning place in Kabukicho. I always sit on the second floor looking out onto the street. To my left is the original Kabuki theatre that the area gets it's namesake from.

5:45 am: Less than a minute from my destination I run into a a group of about 20 police officers (three patrol cars) attending to a drunk that collapsed and hit his head. He was incapacitated and bleeding profusely. It looks like he was in some kind of altercation because his face was pretty messed up. All but two of the officers were just standing around doing nothing while the two that were were loading the man into a dirty old oil-stained plastic tarp and that they got out of the trunk of a cruiser and were dragging him down the road toward on of the cruisers.

5:47 am: In less than 100m I am asked by four different sleazy yakuza types if I wanted a woman.

5:50 am: Finally, I am sitting down in my spot and looking out into the street from my usual second floor seat in McDonalds. I allow myself only one coffee per day (in the morning). The scene on the street was the usual mix of drunk bar hostesses staggering around still in 'vampire' mode as well as bar hosts in cheap black suits, pointy fake leather boots, make up and blonde/orange died hair. The homeless were out as well screaming at everyone and talking loudly to themselves.

5:52 am: I look around and the floor I am on is quiet as usual due to no smoking. The third floor where the bathroom is located is a smoking floor and it's like a roadhouse littered with low-life male escorts and bar hostesses as well as people sleeping. I walked into the bathroom (the only one) but after seeing the most unhealthy bloody, green goo fecal matter in the unflushed toilet I quickly exited.

5:55 am: I got back to my seat just in time to catch the first of the action. There were two guys yelling and screaming at each other on the street. One guy pushed the other guy to the ground and proceeded to bash him with a bicycle that was parked nearby. This continued on and off until the J-cops arrived nearly ten minutes later.

6:05 am The J-cops arrived (about 20 of them). They broke up the fight . The guy who was on the ground (we will refer to him from now on as the 'bashee') was still conscious but covered in blood. Two J-cops were talking to the guy bleeding all over the place. Nothing to stop the bleeding was provided. There were two others talking to the 'basher' who was actually physically pushing around the J-cops. The other 16 or so J-cops just stood around doing nothing.

6:20 am The 16 J-cops that were just standing around left and the bashee was being escorted away (presumably to the nearest police box) cupping his hands under his nose to catch the dripping blood. The basher was continuing to resist arrest (physically). My attention gets drawn to the undercover cop who is questioning the young girls sitting next to me. There is a huge problem in Japan where underage girls from the rural areas just leave home and go to the large urban centers and live on the streets for a little while.

6:40 am: It's been relatively quiet. The basher is still pushing around the J-cops (this is getting old). There's been a guy standing on the corner absolutely motionless since I got here. Some retarded women stopped to feed the crows that were already tearing up the garbage and making a huge mess of everything. A gang of skinny 'tough' guys wearing identical embroidered dragon jackets intimidated a group of escorts. I was then startled by the manager banging the tables where everyone was trying to get some sleep and screaming at them to wake up. As usual everyone just ignored him.

6:45 am: I 've decided to head back (through the puke laden) streets to get the girls ready for school. If I get good feedback then I'll do this again soon. BTW the basher and the bashee passed me on the way out. They were cuddling and holding hands. Looks like they knew each other...

If I get good feedback I'll do this again.

Yoroshiku

Posted by Jeffery J. Stephens at 5:36 AM 0 comments

Homeless In Japan

The following is an expose on the homeless situation in Japan. I see this everyday. I am not trying to bash Japan but it's something that the Japanese government needs to address. Part of the motivation comes when I witnessed a homeless person jump from an overpass while on my lunchtime in Nishi-Shinjuku. I was the first one on the scene but it was too late. I have seen him many times before and he was considered one of the leaders of the homeless community in Shinjuku Central Park. It was a cold November day and I guess he just couldn't take another winter.

The first image depicts on of the dwellings in the Shinjuku Central Park community. Some of these dwellings are ingenious with sloping roofs and even real glass windows. You just can't just 'set up shop' anywhere though. The homeless community in the park have a strict heirarchy as well as rules that must be followed.

The image directly above depicts the homeless lining up to get some soup that is being provided by the Jehova Witnesses. The Jehovas exploit he homeless in Japan by making them attend hours of 'seminars' laced with propaganda before they can claim their soup. You can find homeless people on many street corners and most major stations handing out Jehova propaganda.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Homeless In Japan Part II (Tragedy in Shinjuku)

I remember it like it was yesterday it was 1996 and the police raided Shinjuku Station and brutally forced out all of the homeless people living there in cardboard boxes. People died and were injured. These cardboard boxes were not simply cardboard boxes but were works of art. This community was a tourist attraction and welcomed by everyone. I was fortunate to see them one week before they were destroyed by the police. These works of art are gone forever. Fortunately someone had the insight to photograph these works of art before they were destroyed. You can find them here:
http://www.eyedia.com/gallery/paint/street_en.html

You can try to find more info but there is very little out there. The Japanese government did everything to suppress this incident. Apparently there is an old Shogun law that states that the homeless nuisance is not to be discussed. What info I have is based on my recollection of the TV broadcast.

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