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Japan woman sues yakuza boss over protection money

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C

ComputerMKII

Banned
TOKYO, Tokyo province (AFP) – A woman is suing the head of Japan's biggest yakuza organised crime group, seeking a refund of protection money paid to gangsters threatening to torch her bar, reports said Wednesday.

The plaintiff is claiming Kenichi Shinoda bears "employer's liability" as the don of the Yamaguchi-gumi because the mobsters were affiliated to his syndicate, broadcaster TBS said, in what is thought to be the first case of its kind.

She is demanding around 17 million yen ($17,000) in compensation and reimbursement for payments she was forced to make to protect her bar in the central city of Nagoya, the broadcaster said, citing her legal representatives.

The woman says she paid 30,000-100,000 yen per month between 1998 and 2010 to a member of Inabaji Ikka, a local yakuza group connected to the Yamaguchi-gumi, Kyodo News said.

On one occasion in 2008 when she tried to refuse to pay she was warned that her bar could be burned down, Kyodo said.

The Yamaguchi-gumi makes up more than 40 percent of the nation's organised criminals, with about 27,700 members, according to the National Police Agency.

The plaintiff, whose name has not been made public, argues Shinoda bears ultimate responsibility for her losses as head of the nationwide umbrella organisation of gangster groups, the reports said.

The lawsuit was encouraged by revisions to the historically weak anti-organised crime law in 2008, which pave the way for complainants to sue senior gangsters over their footsoldiers' racketeering.

Lawyers say it is the first case of someone demanding recompense for protection money from a senior yakuza figure and comes as the owner of another bar begins legal action against Shinoda, claiming affiliated criminals burned down his business after he refused to pay protection money.

It also comes two months after the family of a man who was killed in that fire began setting out their case for compensation for the man's death.

A local criminal court has previously found yakuza members guilty of murder in that case.

Like the Italian mafia or Chinese triads, the yakuza engages in activities from gambling, drugs and prostitution to loan sharking, protection rackets, white-collar crime and business conducted through front companies.

The gangs, which are not illegal, have historically been tolerated by the authorities, although there are periodic clampdowns on some of their less savoury activities.

The yakuza are heavily mythologised in Japan, with films, television dramas and fan magazines glamorising lives of stylised violence that are governed by a code of honour handed down from the samurai of yore.

But observers say the reality of the criminal underworld is one of brutishness and thuggery, where only a very few achieve the wealth and standing to which they aspire.

It was reported earlier this month that the Yamaguchi-gumi has published a magazine for its members that includes a poetry page and fishing diaries of senior gangsters, as part of efforts to strengthen solidarity in the face of growing societal animosity.
Click to expand...
Source: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/07/17/japan-woman-sues-yakuza-boss-over-protection-money/
 
S

sonicmj1

Member
Steelrain said:
Might want to double-check your numbers.
Click to expand...

I did.

ib1FJ5m2GcQuVD.jpg
 
D

Deadly Cyclone

Pride of Iowa State
Maybe by making the case a big deal in the media she is trying to not wind up dead. If she dies now it'll look pretty suspicious and obviously come back on the boss. Not saying the cops would be able to prove he did it, but the motive would be rock solid.

They should just drift for it.

tokyo-drift-556x371.jpg
 
P

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
That whole bit about the Yaks not being illegal isnt exactly true. They currently are being "hunted" pretty much with a huge squeeze on them by the govt. Also anyone that is considered to be helping any sort of organizations face jail time / huge fines.

Small example of whats been going on over the past few years.

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000362246

Things have been a lot harder for them than in the past when they were a bit more accepted with society. Over the years the vice has really been tightened on them.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/glob...anti-yakuza-laws-allow-instant-arrests/55198/

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...kuza-laws-are-taking-their-toll/#.UeaaPRzWx8E

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/05/japanese-yakuza-gangs-face-crackdown
 
W

WascallyWabbit

Member
Parakeetman said:
That whole bit about the Yaks not being illegal isnt exactly true. They currently are being "hunted" pretty much with a huge squeeze on them by the govt. Also anyone that is considered to be helping any sort of organizations face jail time / huge fines.

Small example of whats been going on over the past few years.

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000362246

Things have been a lot harder for them than in the past when they were a bit more accepted with society. Over the years the vice has really been tightened on them.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/glob...anti-yakuza-laws-allow-instant-arrests/55198/

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...kuza-laws-are-taking-their-toll/#.UeaaPRzWx8E

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/05/japanese-yakuza-gangs-face-crackdown
Click to expand...

Glad to see this, the Yakuza get glorified sometimes as honorable vigilantes, but they're just as dirty as any other organized crime across the world
 
P

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
WascallyWabbit said:
Glad to see this, the Yakuza get glorified sometimes as honorable vigilantes, but they're just as dirty as any other organized crime across the world
Click to expand...

Thats not all true either. there are some good ones esp the older generation. The same went for the Italian Mob.

Its a generation lost basically. Ive talked to folks in SE Asia for example that said one reason why things were going to shit was due to the whole issue of the younger generation of those in charge now not having the same types of values as the old days. Causing a lot of problems where the older generation has to come out of retirement to put some sort of order in place before a massive crackdown occurs screwing things up for everyone.

As with anything there is good and bad. We have good cops, bad cops, good doctors, bad doctors.

Sure what theses types of folks may do isnt legal, but still at the same time not all of them are monsters that are actively out to harm and fraud others.

Have heard similar stories from folks here who have washed themselves from the lifestyle and say the same things. They worry for the future in general due to the young crowd not having the same values as the old. It may be something that anyone hears all the time from older folks, but when it comes to these types of people in positions of power it has a lot more concern behind it as lives can be lost due to actions based off of poor ethics, morals and values.

*edit
Mistake this not as a kittens flowers and sunshine post where its cool to go out and befriend folks of this lifestyle, but just telling it how it is. The world is a very grey place and putting it into black & white will only wind up shocking yourself more when you find out its anything but.
 
C

CharlieDigital

Banned
If the Yakuza really want to get a message across, they'll just go to court, pull some strings, and get the case dismissed.

This would be even more powerful and defeating than killing a single woman.
 
W

WascallyWabbit

Member
Parakeetman said:
Thats not all true either. there are some good ones esp the older generation. The same went for the Italian Mob.

Its a generation lost basically. Ive talked to folks in SE Asia for example that said one reason why things were going to shit was due to the whole issue of the younger generation of those in charge now not having the same types of values as the old days. Causing a lot of problems where the older generation has to come out of retirement to put some sort of order in place before a massive crackdown occurs screwing things up for everyone.

As with anything there is good and bad. We have good cops, bad cops, good doctors, bad doctors.

Sure what theses types of folks may do isnt legal, but still at the same time not all of them are monsters that are actively out to harm and fraud others.

Have heard similar stories from folks here who have washed themselves from the lifestyle and say the same things. They worry for the future in general due to the young crowd not having the same values as the old. It may be something that anyone hears all the time from older folks, but when it comes to these types of people in positions of power it has a lot more concern behind it as lives can be lost due to actions based off of poor ethics, morals and values.

*edit
Mistake this not as a kittens flowers and sunshine post where its cool to go out and befriend folks of this lifestyle, but just telling it how it is. The world is a very grey place and putting it into black & white will only wind up shocking yourself more when you find out its anything but.
Click to expand...

My post wasn't to call individual Yakuza good or bad people. But the Yakuza as a whole are a criminal organization and while certain individuals are honorable within it, everyone has their hands dirty.
 
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