Nuclear-armed gangster:
Yakuza expert: - Looks really ugly
Journalist Jake Adelstein has covered Japan's underworld for 30 years. He is surprised that the US Department of Justice even calls Takeshi Ebisawa a yakuza .
ROCKET THROWER IN COPENHAGEN: - He may be a low-ranking yakuza, or a former yakuza. But to think that this guy is a big yakuza boss is probably completely wrong, says Jake Adelstein (tv) about Takeshi Ebisawa (th) Photo: US Magistrate Judge / Reuters and Chelsea Sakura Bailey / Privat
Håkon Kvam Lyngstad
Published 23/02/2024 22:26
This is the case:
Takeshi Ebisawa is accused of having smuggled radioactive material through Myanmar, and of planning to sell it to Iran.
Ebisawa is also suspected of being a leader in the Japanese mafia, the so-called yakuza, but it is uncertain who he works for in that case.
Yakuza engage in shady activities such as drug trafficking, prostitution, gambling, extortion and illegal lending.
In 2013, there were as many as 80,000 members of various Yakuza organizations in Japan. In 2022, the figure was estimated to be down to around 24,000.
The summary is generated by Labrador AI, but read through by a journalist.
- He looks like an idiot, says journalist and author Jake Adelstein to TV 2.
The man he is talking about is Takeshi Ebisawa, who the US believes is a leader in the Japanese mafia.
JOURNALIST: Jake Adelstein, who among other things has published the books "Tokyo Vice" and "The Last Yakuza". Photo: Private
Ebisawa is accused, among other things, of having smuggled radioactive material through Myanmar, and of having planned to sell it to Iran. He has also been photographed in Denmark, where he posed with a rocket launcher.
BACKGROUND: Alleged to have smuggled plutonium - here he is in Copenhagen
But Adelstein doubts whether Ebisawa is part of any yakuza group at all.
- If he were to be a yakuza boss, we are unable to identify which group he is connected to. Ebisawa was arrested two years ago. Every single organization would ban him. They would send a fax to the police and establish that he was no longer part of their organisation, says Adelstein further.
Adelstein was the first non-Japanese journalist to get a job in a Japanese newspaper, when in 1993 he was employed by the daily newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun. He has since covered the Japanese underworld. His memoir, "Tokyo Vice", has been made into a TV series under the same title on HBO.
This is the yakuza - Japan's mafia:
• Criminal Japanese organisations, which probably have roots in illegal activities in the country as early as the 17th century.
• The organizations are organized strictly hierarchically in clans. There are 24 registered yakuza organizations in Japan, with around 24,000 members.
• The mafia engages in activities such as gambling, drugs, prostitution, extortion and money laundering. But they often also run legitimate businesses in combination with the criminal, for example property development or in the construction industry.
• The Yakuza are known for their use of symbols: intricate tattoos, traditional ceremonies and symbols attached to the collar of their suits. These elements are often included in representations in popular culture.
• From ancient times, the yakuza have been seen as a kind of necessary evil in Japanese society. In recent times, they have faced stricter tones, and new laws have tightened up the mafia's room for action.
• The three largest clans are Yamaguchi-gumi, Sumiyoshi-kai and Inagawa-kai.
Source: "Contemporary Japan" by Jeff Kingston; Large Norwegian encyclopedia.
TV 2 has contacted Takeshi Ebisawa's lawyer, but has so far not received a reply.
- It looks very ugly
The yakuza, in which Adelstein has become an expert throughout his career, runs shady activities such as drug dealing, prostitution, gambling, extortion and illegal lending.
But they describe themselves as humanitarian organisations, and are concerned that they "maintain Japanese values".
Leaders of Japan's largest yakuza clan, the Yamaguchi-gumi, arrive at the funeral of the clan's godfather Masahisa Takenaka. He was killed in Osaka in 1985 - which started a major gang war in which more than 20 were killed. Photo: AP Photo/Asahi Shimbun)
Leaders of Japan's largest yakuza clan, the Yamaguchi-gumi, arrive at the funeral of the clan's godfather Masahisa Takenaka. He was killed in Osaka in 1985 - which started a major gang war in which more than 20 were killed. Photo: AP Photo/Asahi Shimbun)
- The days when the yakuza could operate openly and brazenly are numbered, writes researcher Jeff Kingston in his book "Contemporary Japan".
- They can no longer know that the police tolerate them, and that the public buys the myth of the chivalrous spirit of the yakuza, he writes further.
But maintaining the outward facade is still important to the Japanese mafia.
- So it looks very ugly to them if a guy like this is taken, and belongs to them, says Adelstein, about Ebisawa.
The American journalist, who still lives and works in Japan, says he inquired with several acquaintances who are still part of the world of the yakuza, as well as with police he knows.
TRADITIONAL: By drinking from a cup of sake, and swearing allegiance to the sun goddess Amaterasu, the man on the left in the picture was to become the new deputy leader of the Kokusui-kai clan. AP's journalist thought it resembled a religious ceremony. Photo: ERIC TALMADGE / AP
TRADITIONAL: By drinking from a cup of sake, and swearing allegiance to the sun goddess Amaterasu, the man on the left in the picture was to become the new deputy leader of the Kokusui-kai clan. AP's journalist thought it resembled a religious ceremony. Photo: ERIC TALMADGE / AP
None of them know that Ebisawa has been part of any of the 20 registered yakuza organizations in Japan.
He has also asked the Department of Justice in the United States if they could confirm whether they were sure he belonged to the yakuza, and if so which. The ministry would not assist with that.
- But they should name the organisation, if they know it. Rival groups would give them information. It serves them to see a rival go under, Adelstein believes.
New laws: - That is what crushes them
In 2013, there were as many as 80,000 members of various yakuza organizations in Japan. In 2022, the figure was estimated to be down to around 24,000.
The only group that grew in traffic on the statistics was the country's largest clan: the Yamaguchi-gumi. Given the large dropout, it may be that Ebisawa in particular also has a past from one of these clans:
- Many are left without their livelihood. Maybe they are drawn to the only thing they know, says Adelstein.
RAZZIA: Satoru Nomura is the head of Kudo-kai. Here, the police searched one of the clan's offices in the city of Kitakyushu in southern Japan in April 2010. Photo: Kyodo/via Reuters
RAZZIA: Satoru Nomura is the head of Kudo-kai. Here, the police searched one of the clan's offices in the city of Kitakyushu in southern Japan in April 2010. Photo: Kyodo/via Reuters
Over the past two decades, the Japanese authorities have introduced a number of new laws. Now gang leaders can be sued for the actions of subordinates. It has become illegal to do business with yakuza members. Members also have major problems with taking out telephone subscriptions, leases and opening bank accounts.
Before, local businesses were forced to pay protection money to the yakuza. Now they become criminals themselves if they do that, explains Adelstein.
- That's what crushes them: new laws, he says.
- Being a yakuza is such a gloomy profession, not unlike journalism. If you are a yakuza, your life expectancy is 54 years. I am 54 now. We fade away together, he continues jokingly.
MAJOR ACTION: The police take action against the Yamaken-gumi in Kobe west of Osaka in September 2015. The clan is part of the larger Yamaguchi-gumi. Photo: JAPAN OUT AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS
Similar to Hawaii case
The case of Ebisawa appears unique in many ways. Nevertheless, Adelstein highlights a case from 1985, where two Japanese yakuza members were arrested in Hawaii for having bought large quantities of weapons - including a bazooka.
"Federal agents who arrested the alleged leader of Japan's biggest crime ring and two others say they planned to kill a rival with a rocket, tried to smuggle weapons and trafficked $56 million in drugs," UPI wrote about the case in September 1985.
- But one of them went free, because his lawyer was smart enough to question what it means when you say "hai" in Japanese ("ja", jou.anm.), says Adelstein. The lawyer convinced the court that it could only mean that he wanted to show that he listened to what was said.
- So there have been several cases where yakuza have tried to obtain weapons from abroad.
https://www.tv2.no/nyheter/utenriks/yakuza-ekspert-ser-virkelig-stygt-ut/16486275/
