A shift in Japanese crime dynamics

Crime shift: Police officers investigating at the site where Ito was assassinated by gunshot in Nagasaki in this April 17, 2007, file photo. Gang violence in a number of neighbourhoods, including the 2007 fatal shooting of Ito during his election campaign, have since led the government to tighten gun control, racketeering laws and other anti-gang measures. — AP

A senior member of yakuza was arrested for allegedly stealing Pokemon cards near Tokyo in April, a case seen as an example of Japanese organised crime groups struggling with declining membership.

Police agents who were busy dealing with thousands of yakuza members just a few years ago have noticed something new – unorganised and loosely connected groups they believe are behind a series of crimes once dominated by yakuza.