The Homegrown Mafia Network - Essay Example

Although the Yakuza are known for their violence and illegal activities, it remains a part of the Japanese culture with its origin dating back to theTokugawa period. In the modern era, Yakuza’s presence is no longer acknowledged as a disruption, but they have big effects on economic development in Japan by their illegal yet profitable businesses. Some of the businesses that Yakuza have on their sleeves are sex tour, prostitution, women trafficking, drugs, loan sharking, and extortion with force. In Japan, there is a growing number of homegrown mafia network called “Yakuza”. Although Yakuza is often being equated with other mafia groups in countries such as China, Vietnam and Philippine; Yakuza does not live in secret like other mafia groups. It is not illegal to be a member of Yakuza. They have business offices, business cards and even fan magazine (Adelstein, 2010). There are three biggest Yakuza syndicates in Japan; they are the Yamaguchi-gumi, Sumiyoshi-kai, and Inagawa-kai (Kingston, 2011). Many of the members of the Yakuza gang is men who are poorly educated and/or prone to violence and crimes having no other options to survive in the society being powerless and financially weak (Kingston, 2011). Minorities and oppressed groups in Japan are overrepresented in Yakuza groups, because they are discriminated in the society resulting in limited career choices and opportunities (Kingston, 2011). As the time progresses, Yakuza is no longer all about brawn and violence, they are starting to take a step towards business and expanding their capital and territory (Kingston, 2011). In modern days, Yakuza controls some of the Japan’s biggest illegal yet profitable industries (Kingston, 2011). In Japan’s economic boom time during the 1960s and 1970s, Japanese Yen was rising and there was a sufficient amount of disposable income with the Japanese citizens (Kaplan & Dubro, 2003). As a result, many people were travelling in and out of Japan and Yakuza saw this as an opportunity to increase their capital. They saw that Japanese men and tourists are lining up for prostitution, therefore, they introduced the term “sex tour” (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). The sex tours, that were organized by the Yakuza, brought Japanese citizens to explore East Asia while enjoying prostitution at the same time (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). Between the 1906s and 1970s, there was a boom in Yakuza’s sex trade business. Many Japanese men travelled to either Taiwan or Korea to enjoy this guilty pleasure in the nation’s cheap brothels (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). Sex tourism became a major and profitable business; therefore, many other companies such as hotels, airlines and tourists’ agency, started competing to attain a partnership agreement with the Yakuza (Kaplan & Dubro, 2003). Sex tourism could be considered barbaric by most of the people; however, it played an important role in terms of Japanese economy. Not only that it boosted up the economy because the Yakuza earns a lot of profit, but also because many companies such as Japanese airlines are profitable due to high demand of Japanese tourism for people who want to travel to Japan and enjoy this sex tour. In addition, Yakuza also took a central role in trafficking women overseas (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). The idea of trafficking women itself was found way back in Japanese history in the late 1800s, when poor Japanese families sold their daughter in the international slave trade, and they are brought to either Hawaii or California (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). These unfortunate Japanese women were in the same conditions with the Women that are trafficked into Japan by Yakuza today; they are blinded by the promise of better life only to be forced into working as a prostitute (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). These Japanese women were called “karayuki- san”. In the modern days, the gangs lure women from all around the East Asia to enter Japan, with the promise of a better life (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). Instead of having a new fresh start, these women are pushed and trapped to work as a low paid prostitute in Japanese brothels (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). These women are called “Japayuki-san” by the Japanese citizens (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). Yakuza’s woman trafficking is a multibillion dollar business that is more profitable than drugs and gun business accustomed with fewer penalties (Kaplan & Dubro, 2003). One section with foreign prostitute in Japan costs roughly around $200 in the late 1900s (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). So, with roughly around 100,000 foreign prostitutes in Japan, Yakuza could probably earn around $7.2 billion per year (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). Although some could see this illegal women trafficking business as dehumanizing, it could not be denied that it has brought positive impacts to the Japanese economy. The trafficking group employs many people who were unable to get a job; in addition, some of the foreign women were lucky enough to find a job as a hostess and work in better environments with earnings ten times higher than they could have earned if they stayed in their home country (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). Another big business that the Yakuza is involved in is ‘drug smuggling’. One of the most popular drugs that bring a lot of profit is called “shabu” in Japanese and ‘meth’ for the westerners. Many believe that due to the fast pace of their everyday lives, Japanese need this stimulant drug in order to keep up (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). Due to this, there is a lot of demand of meth drug in Japan; the police assume that meth sales are one third of the Yakuza’s income (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). The drug market kept on increasing since the 1970s and the huge profit allows the Yakuza to expand nationally (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). The drug itself is supplied by Japan’s neighboring countries such as China, Korea and Taiwan (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). Each year it is estimated that Yakuza could sell seven tons of Meth (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). Loan shark is also one of the biggest profitable Yakuza’s businesses. In Japan, the loan sharks are called “Yamikin” or some could call “Sarakin”, and most of loan shark is financed by Yakuza (Tomomi, 2010). Financing loan sharks are a very profitable business for the Yakuza. The mid 1980s is considered as the peak of loan sharking business, due to the collapse of the bubble economy (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). During the collapse of bubble economy, many people turned to banks to attain loan in order to keep their businesses alive (Tomomi, 2010). However, the economy did not seem to improve, resulting in banks and other financial institutions moving away from new loaners (Tomomi, 2010). Therefore, many Japanese turned to loan sharks in order to borrow more money at considerably high interest rates (Tomomi, 2010). When a customer goes to a loan shark, all they need is their identification, and they could walk out with $2000 with 60% interests annually, in around 20 minutes (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). The business kept on growing. The profit that loan sharks earn to Yakuza is estimated to be around 9.4 billion yen or about $100 million (Tomomi, 2010). The Yakuza use the profit to invest in businesses and companies inside Japan and abroad (Tomomi, 2010). By investing in a Japanese company, Yakuza helps the nations’ company to grow bigger and compete in the international market. Yakuza help the company in terms of expanding their business and saving them from bankruptcy, and as a result it boosts up the Japan’s economy. On the contrary, many blamed the Yakuza for the recession in Japan, due to the fact that Yakuza is believed to push the lenders on the edge of bankruptcy due to the high interest rate that the lenders are unable to repay (Kingston, 2011). Many believe that not only the Yakuza pushed the lenders to bankruptcy but they also pushed the lenders to perform suicidal action. In 1996, there were approximately 3,025 Japanese who killed themselves due to the fact that they owed a lot of money to the loan sharks with such a high interest that they were unable to pay back (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). This was also because of the harsh ways adopted by Yakuza when it came to re-collecting their funds. It is not a surprise that the Yakuza use public humiliation and physical abuse to extract money that the lenders owed (Tomomi, 2010). This is because Japanese have a high pride in self-images, and when their image is ruined, to safe face, some of the lenders pick to commit a suicide or fly away leaving their family and work (Kaplan & Dunbro, 2003). Jiage operations are the operations where Yakuza involved in construction state in terms of clearing the land and scaring away the land tenants and small landowners (Kingston, 2011). In order for the company to build a project on a certain land, they need to escort the occupant out of the land, and this could be troublesome. Therefore, many of the companies hire Yakuza to scare and intimidate the occupant, so they will leave the premises (Kingston, 2011; Tomomi, 2010). Although, the violent experiences are frightening for people that live there, Yakuza are able to get 3% commission on the value of the land (Kingston, 2011). This business led many Yakuza to invest their earnings into land speculation and stock investment, hoping that the assets’ value will increase overtime (Kingston, 2011). Lastly, Yakuza are involved in an operation called Sokaiya. In history, sokaiya were hired by the company to protect them from threats and work in their favor (Kingston, 2011). However, as the time passed by during the economic bubble burst, sokaiya is no longer hired by the company due to the costs (Kingston, 2011). Therefore, the Yakuza modified their tactics so they could keep earning from Sokaiya operation. So, in modern days, sokaiya is when the Yakuza extort money from a company by ferret out or inventing information that are embarrassing about the company or executives, and threaten them to release the information to the public unless they give the Yakuza a large sum of money of loans that they did not intended to pay (Kingston, 2011; Tomomi, 2010). Most of the companies will fall into the Yakuza’s trap and give them what they want. This is because Japanese companies are very concerned in terms of reputation and image, because the reputation and image of the company will be reflected into financial performance, and one bad statement or news could decrease the companies’ value (Kingston, 2011). Police estimates that the Sokaiya operation is one of Yakuza’s biggest sources of income, because the company is persistent to keep the secret untold (Kingston, 2011). Conclusively, Yakuza has become a part of Japanese culture and plays a vital role in Japanese economy. Although many people see Yakuza as a threat to the Japanese society, many of the illegal yet profitable businesses that are conducted by Yakuza has given a major positive effect on Japan’s economy. It expanded Japanese tourism by incorporating sex tour and brought women from all over East Asia to work as prostitutes in Japan. Money that the Yakuza earn from their illegal businesses is invested in local Japanese businesses that allow the company to compete internationally. Yakuza also employs unwanted groups in Japan; therefore it increases the nation’s income and lower down the unemployment rate. So, even though many of Yakuza’s businesses are illegal, their business has helped Japan’s economy to grow. Read More