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The yakuza seems to have no future. The famous mafia in the Land of the Rising Sun has faced decline at all levels for years, which has been accentuated especially in the context of tightening crime laws, but also as a result of changing societal milestones. Japanese. Today the yakuza is dominated by older people and slowly but surely it is becoming a source of stories.
In the 2006 census, the first to be organized in the yakuza, the Japanese mafia consisted mainly of men in their 30s and 40s. Currently, only 14% of men in this age group are members of the yakuza, while young people in their 20s and 30s are barely 5%. The data comes from a report by the Japanese National Police widely cited by the international press.
According to the report, half of the yakuza members are now over 50 years old, while the percentage of those over 70 is 10%. The yakuza is no longer as attractive to young people as it used to be, as evidenced by the fact that its middle-aged members are doing the job below. This is a decrease in staff that has been observed especially after the disappearance of near impunity for the yakuza, according to the report.
The 1960s and 1970s are considered the “golden age” of the yakuza. At the time, the Japanese mafia was at its peak, with more than 180,000 members and an idealized image both at home and abroad. 50 years later, the situation is completely reversed. The yakuza has only 14,400 members, plus 13,800 associates. Most of them, 8,900, belong to the Yamaguchi-gumi group, led by a 78-year-old leader, Shinobu Tsukasa.
In addition to personnel problems, the Yakuza is also experiencing “cultural decline,” according to the British publication “The Telegraph.”
One of the causes of this “cultural decline” is the general aging of the Japanese population. But according to another British publication, The Guardian, the main reason is that the yakuza no longer enjoys the near impunity that allowed it to become legendary.
“My generation dreamed of becoming high-ranking members of the clan, allowing them to be popular with women, have money, and drive luxury cars. But times have changed. Young people today no longer like the idea of being linked to a clan ”, confesses a yakuza who retired from the activity at the age of 70.
“Young people have to make a lot of sacrifices to lead a life as gangsters, but all for the benefit of fewer and fewer,” said Tomohiko Suzuki, a Japanese yakuza author.
Tighter laws and intensified police action have hit the yakuza hard. In recent years, its members have become increasingly frequent behind bars for longer and longer sentences. In addition, they found it difficult to operate, not having access to the benefits of the past, such as obtaining insurance or opening a bank account. Affected economically and morally, they were also victims of crisis of identity and management. While courage and loyalty are no longer rewarded as before, the “corporate” atmosphere, especially established by Kiyoshi Takayama in Yamaguchi-gumi, was also badly perceived.
“It’s no fun being a Yamaguchi-gumi. Now it’s like working for Toyota. What was once a criminal group has become a corporation. Every morning you had to be present at 07:30 at the group headquarters, because Takayama would arrive at 08.00, ”explains Ryo Fujimara, a historian specializing in the Japanese mafia.
The emblematic case of this decline at all levels is perhaps that of Masato Gunji, the head of a rural yakuza clan who was arrested in a shop while stealing food from him.
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