No. 2 man in biggest yakuza gang jailed for extortion

The builder’s testimony that he had been the victim of extortion by the defendant is credible.”

Is the builder in witness protection? Does that even exist here in Japan?

What protection? No action from police until one is dead.

In the land of the blind, the "one eyed man" is king? Not any more.

The highest was 2 billion yen in a case of fraud by a meat importer.

since the reference is made, i am rather curious to know who's that importer.

"The gangs, which are not illegal..."

Japanese culture.

I always have a sense of the surreal when walking past my local yakuza chapter.These guys extort money by violence and murder and they are legal?

2nd in command gets taken down-

Doesn't happen everyday!

I imagine that took some doing. Hope it's not a one-off.

“The builder’s testimony that he had been the victim of extortion by the defendant is credible.”

Balls of Steel!

The highest was 2 billion yen in a case of fraud by a meat importer.

You've got to be kidding..? A white collar crime by a meat importer warrants the largest bond..? Who runs this country..? A bunch of 8-year olds..?

And if you Openly know who the No.1 person in that organization is, WHY the heck isn't he behind bars...? Unbelievable... Kids, running a country....

These guys extort money by violence and murder and they are legal?

What they do is illegal, merely being a part or member of one is not.

Sounds to me more like this was not the Government "cracking down" but one very Brave Construction Company Owner standing up against organized crime and taking it to the courts.

Yes... the meat importer had a higher bond..... you don't mess with Japanese food.

Time for the builder to buy two more tool's, a .44 mag. handgun...and a bullet proof vest.

The gangs, which are not illegal, have historically been tolerated by the authorities, although there are periodic clampdowns on some of their less savory activities.

Eeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhh? (sorry, copying my ex when she she's surprised) The gangs aren't illegal? Well that's news to me.

The gangs, which are not illegal, have historically been tolerated by the authorities, although there are periodic clampdowns on some of their less savory activities.

the yakuza engages in activities ranging from gambling, drugs and prostitution to loan sharking, protection rackets, white-collar crime and business conducted through front companies. Are this not illegal in Japan by these Yakuza Gangs? Geezzzzz wake up JGovt. Har...har..har...

The biggest news for me was that he is out walking the streets on bail for treatment of an unspecified illness?

Oh! Really?? A courtesy extended to all inmates, I'm sure.

Whatever bureaucrat rubber stamped that deal would be a good place to start investigating.

Ya, Chin4Sailor and Bahjista,

Like all the No. 1s and 2s of the US mafias, Italy, Russia, China, etc. are all, like, permanently behind bars.

And because those countries are run by grown ups, surely.

The cops here, or somebody, did a difficult job. Credit where due.

@Chin4Sailor

" if you Openly know who the No.1 person in that organization is, WHY the heck isn't he behind bars...? Unbelievable"

Oh that's right. In Italy, America, China, Russia, all the mafia bosses are getting arrested left and right, oh wait.....

Sufferin' succotash!"

The gangsters all here:

The gangs in JAPAN, which are not illegal, have historically been tolerated by the authorities of JAPAN

...Ain't That Ducky...Tourist take note!

Oh, big deal! So, they have charge one member just to make themselves look like they are doing their job. Obviously, this yak stopped paying his own protection money to the cops. Here we have just another token arrest. The cops know the yak's activities, they know how many members and they know who they are, but they do bugger all about it because 'it's part of our culture'.

Ironically the fact that the Japanese police turns a blind eye to gangsters - as long as the gangsters aren't involved in more "serious" crimes, like possessing guns, killing civilians, dealing with drugs, are probably one of the reasons why the crime rate in Japan is so low. Gangsters and the police in Japan have formed an unwritten rule - as long as they stay away from committing more "serious" crimes, the police in return turn a blind eye to their activities. However this only means that extortion, intimidation, racketeering, human trafficking, prostitution, torture, etc, have only become a "part" of Japan. It's not so uncommon for the Japanese politicians to openly deal with the Yakuza.

An internal power play?

It's high time the authorities here permanently cracked down on these uneducated and cowardly thugs that most japanese are too scared to even whisper: the Yakuza. Sadly without heroic people like this builder - who risk their lives by giving evidence-the Yaks will remain part of traditional japanese culture. One of the reasons I always bring my own beers and food to festivals here - I refuse to give my honestly-earned yen to the vendors they control.

@ Chin4Sailor I definitely cant anything about your knowledge of history or organized crime. Your amazing intellect dazzles me. The gangs that sell drugs, like the booze runners in the prohibition, is organized crime. The organized crime that exists in America is real and flourishing. The drug cartels are making great profits. The bribes are flowing, and everyone is making money. Convicting these people is not easy. I wish we could just convict people on rumors. You would be convicted of invading an allied state.  PS Why aren't you protecting amer borders from illegal drugs and immigrants.

now lets hope they get the No.1 yakuza man...

"one-eyed gangster"

And one-pinkied I'll bet.

Now let's hope they get No.1 and Nos.3 through 500...

Interesting, because merely suggesting to someone that you are Yakuza ( using that actual word ) is illegal, and yet the article states that the gangs are not illegal, quite possibly because not all of their activites are illegal, and someone as high up as no2 in the Yamaguchi gumi organization would no doubt have a lot of legal businesses., and as he is in the largest Yakuza family in Japan, it denies belief that he was actively involved in a hands on case of extortion.

Another interesting point is that the Yakuza are well known for their involvement with construction companies.

The article is only as factual as the information they are supplied with.