Fake fingers help ex-yakuza lead lawful life

Good on them.

expensive - around 300,000 yen (about $3,000) for one finger

Toru and Hayashi should check out 3D Printers. They can make prosthetic hands for about $150 each. The printers go for about $3000 on up.

http://centennial.rockefellerfoundation.org/innovators/profile-dev/utilizing-3d-printing-to-change-the-face-of-prosthetic-finger-production

Cheapest 3D printer ($500): http://www.solidoodle.com/

They could do well if they work hard, even if they have lost some of their fingers.

It's doubtful that many of them could afford to spend $9000 every three months on fingers.

I hope this article is being published where those who it can benefit directly can read it.

Still, it is an inspirational tale, well worth reading. Just goes to show, you can always turn your life around, regardless of the obstacles. An admirable man.

Good on you mate! And honest day's labour.

As for the latex wearing out, its a bit of a compromise. You need a substance that'll feel natural and soft to touch if you have to shake someone's hand... but that means that it is soft and so wears easily and needs to be replaced quite frequently.

Regarding James Rogers comment, it is only $3000 for the mould, not the actual replacement finger each 3 months....

@ James Read the article carefully. $3,000 is for mold. Once you have the mold made, you can make silicone finger, which is rather cheap. The mold itself should last a long time.

Amazing work! The colouring and texture are extremely good. I wonder what the lower arm prosthesis is for? An industrial accident, or a thief who lost his hand in the Middle East?

D'oh. >_<

"Making a mold for the silicon casting is expensive—around 300,000 yen (about $3,000) for one finger—but it means the prosthetics are easy, and relatively cheap, to replace when they look tatty or worn."

Observers say the strict code of honor of the yakuza, passed down from the samurai warriors of the 17th and 18th centuries, is largely gone and many are little more than brutal criminals.

o please they were always brutal criminals, whatever honorable way of doing things they had may have gotten worse in the last hundred years, but they were always there to use force to get their way and get profit and use weak ppl to get profit.

Am I the only one who sees that this guy just "left" the Yakuza, and found another criminal route - MONEY LAUNDERING ?!

And they have been well worth the initial outlay, allowing him to build a house renovation company that does legitimate work.

It's good he got into an industry that has no historical links to organized crime.

What a silly bastard. Why not just set up the house renovation company in the first place and not join the Yakuza at all?

yep. 3 million dollars a year renovating houses.uh-huh.