Traditionally, the yakuza have run protection rackets, as well as gambling, sex and other businesses
The Dojinkai is one of the country's 22 crime syndicates, employing some 85,000 members and recognized by the government.
Traditionally, the yakuza have run protection rackets, as well as gambling, sex and other businesses that the authorities believed were a necessary part of any society. By letting the yakuza operate relatively freely, the authorities were able to keep an extremely close watch on them.
In the beginning, there were problems, which Ms. Shigematsu jotted down in a notepad she has kept to this day. Entries for Oct. 10, 1998, included: (1) "no greeting"; (2) "speaking loudly on the phone on the street late a night;" (9) "messy disposal of garbage."
Not surprisingly, Ms. Shigematsu said the yakuza now respected the neighborhood's rules.
"They don't bother the neighborhood," she said, adding: "If I go speak to them about something -- for example, about throwing away the trash -- they'll say, 'Sorry!' "
Mrs. Shigematsu, however, still checked the contents of the Dojinkai's garbage bins just to make sure.
INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC
Neighborhood in Japan Files Lawsuit in Bid to Oust Mafia
By NORIMITSU ONISHI
Published: November 16, 2008
Organized crime, considered a necessary evil, is tolerated by, and sometimes allied with, the authorities in Japan.