J-League vows to keep yakuza out

Different world. Of course us gaijins have nothing to do with it. We only go ewwww... It is a shame they can't find a cure to this lot until the geezers in DIET die out. Never seen a Yak in 16 yrs without a smoke.

Why these statements now? Are there suspicions?

Betting is outlawed in Japan except on horse racing and some other races.

Outlawed? Betting is pretty much the national past-time!

Starting denials early, eh?

Maybe Japan needs more Dennis restaurants?

This is why I've basically given up on all pro sports - they're all corrupted, nothing is sacred anymore. I prefer junior sports and amateur now.

Yakuza organized rigged winnings in sumo tournaments, that is what they are mostly worried about in J-league organized rigged winnings of teams to get higher gains from illegal gambling.

J-League vows to keep yakuza out

i think that's for Yakuza to decide !

stay away you naughty Yazuka, just stay away or we'll huff and puff and...... do very little

Whatever the Yaks get up to with football here, it can never be as bad as some of the ultras in Italy. These gangs are actually part of many clubs' board of directors, and can demand free tickets for their gang members, influence decisions on transfers, etc. Absolutely crazy. Whatever Japan can do to marginalise the yaks needs to be done.

I don't know enough about real yakuza to join either of the camps that always crop up in this debate--either that they are guardians of the vestiges of Japan's codes of honor, or they are an antisocial force incompatible with the legal codes of modern society.

All I know is from watching fictional portrayals by talented actors such as Kitano Takeshi and Terajima Susumu. That said, my all time favorite gang on film was the duo in Dolls. A loudmouthed, spoiled brat in a wheelchair and his one dim sidekick make weekly visits to collect apology money from the mafia boss who killed his dad. Funny.

I tend to think that for most people associated with gangs, life is based on the same scenario--years of tedious groveling, punctuated on occasion (see the Denny's shooting) when the forced civility and year after year of the rival's kid in the wheelchair nagging at you get to your head.

More and more Yakuza business owners have ownership in mainstream business. Many have legilimate businesses that are tied to organized Yakuza without most people knowing and some do make honest living. Some of these businesses are going through transition from old sterotype businesses to responsible legilimate company. As long as they follow the law, they should be able to co-exist with other mainstream investors. Good example is Las Vegas and Atlantic City with gambling casinos.