By: Hareem Mubashar
In 1963, membership in the Yakuza, Japan’s transnational organized crime syndicates, peaked at about 184,000 members. Now, it has fallen as low as 17,600 to 18,000 members today. Japan has been heralded for its strict crackdown on organized crime via its 1992 Anti-Organised Crime Law and subsequent business protection laws.
However, akin to a hydra that doubles when its head is cut off, organized crime in Japan reemerged in the form of the tokuryu. Tokuryu groups operate without the centralized structure and formal hierarchy characteristic of yakuza syndicates. Members often do not know each other personally, and they are recruited for specific tasks or crimes. Much of their communication is facilitated digitally, and the lack of connection makes investigation of these elusive groups much more difficult.
The tokuryu gained prominence in the early 2020s, garnering attention after a series of robberies by a gang under the name of Luffy, named after the character from a popular anime, One Piece. These ad hoc syndicates are elusive precisely because they are amorphous, forming and dissolving at will. They recruit strangers through social media for yami baito, or “shady part time jobs,” which can range from burglary, fraud, or even violent theft.
Tokuryu groups have even formed alliances with traditional gangsters and are suspected of sharing profits with them. They’re also believed to have expanded into Vietnam, Cambodia, and even Thailand.
The assumption, then, is that the tokuryu is just the replacement to the Yakuza. This is not the whole truth.
Falling yakuza membership can be attributed mostly to the financial incentives placed by the Japanese government—regulations, targeted exclusionary laws. For example, yakuza members are forbidden from opening bank accounts, taking out insurance, or even obtaining credit cards. It makes sense, then, for newer generations, to see no intrigue or temptation in the life of a gangster.
Japan has a problem in that it treats the tokuryu like the yakuza, when in reality they are in vastly different realms. The yakuza permeated and intertwined itself with Japanese government and politics for almost half a century, and it was struck down by regulations focusing primarily on the connections between members. Regulations that focused on the construction and business fronts while criminalizing the political alliances is what finally managed to crack into the yakuza.
The tokuryu is different. These groups are not criminal syndicates with an overarching, shared history and goal. Such groups exist essentially for one cause—financial gain. They coalesce for their goal, and once it is achieved, they dissolve.
In response, Japanese police have made various attempts to infiltrate and catch tokuryu members. From undercover cyber missions to using quintessential methods such as security cameras, the Japanese police force has made an effort to catch tokuryu recruits. Nonetheless, they continue to employ old tactics in the face of new issues.
The purpose of covert operations is to gain information and find the source of an issue. They may have been salient during the era of the yakuza, in which breaking into the yakuza hierarchy gave access to invaluable information, people, and evidence. However, undercover infiltrations won’t be as helpful in catching the tokuryu, because there is no hierarchy to break into. Going into the web or joining in on temporary missions won’t help when the groups dissolve shortly after.
Japan has employed the same tactics that they used for the yakuza against tokuryu groups. Instead, Japan should look to countries that are known for fighting cybercrime. Singapore’s Police Force Cyber Command was created with a full-spectrum response to online scams and cybercrime. It even included public education additions to dismantling criminal syndicates. Similarly, the Anti-Scam Centre serves under the SPF Cyber Command to specifically target scam operations. Whatever the solution, Japan must evolve in its strategy.
Japan has a new problem with organized crime; yet, it's still using old methods.