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Merits of Yakuzas

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The yakuza - a family of organized crime that is complicated, hierarchical, underground and extremely influential in both the Private and the Public sphere, is unique to Japan. It is common knowledge that there exists an underworld in every country. The Yakuza, the significant part of Japan’s underworld however carries along unique characteristics, which makes it arguably a crucial part of what makes up the Japanese society. This essay seeks to substantiate the claim that Yakuzas, despite its definition of being a criminal organization, plays an important role in the Japanese history and society.

Firstly, the Yakuzas plays a role in the Japanese society as they can be seen as a kind of ‘ambivalent hero’ throughout the Japanese …show more content…

Till today, the government is fully aware of their presence and their members, but have not banned the yakuza. The government have instead recognized their right to exist and kept them in hand with strict laws. The 1991 Anti-Yakuza Law is classified as an executive law, rather than a justice law. Hence, The Yakuza will be punished only if they breach the orders under the law.(Shikata, 2006, PG 419).
The Yakuzas are also well established in the corporate world. Protection of businesses by the yakuza is very common, more so in the past however. Companies pay yojimbodai2 to the yakuza in exchange for protection services.
It is worthy to note the fact that companies sought the Yakuzas’ protection willingly. For instance, the entertainment industry seeks protection to reduce the threat of disruption to their operating environment by competitors or rowdy customers. Trucking and construction industries are dependent on this protection to prevent delayed, damaged goods in transit due to the highly competitive industry. (Hill, 2003, 96). Evidently, businesses are the ones who are actively seeking yakuza protection instead of finding it thrust upon them.

To conclude this essay, the presence of the Yazuka as outcasts of the society acts as a "social cloth" that binds much of Japan together. In essence, the yakuza is more than what they seem on the surface. Furthermore, despite the presence

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