The country’s largest yakuza organised crime body submitted a written pledge to authorities to end its wars with splinter groups, police said.
The Yamaguchi-gumi has fought bloody wars with other yakuza groups formed by its former members who broke away in 2015.
Senior members submitted a letter in person to police on Monday vowing to “end all infightings” and “not make any trouble”, a police official said yesterday.
Authorities have had various yakuza groups under close surveillance since 2020 over their intensifying violence, which has severely limited their activities, like their ability to use offices in certain areas.
The Yamaguchi-gumi’s pledge, submitted in Hyogo prefecture in western Japan, may be aimed at loosening the restrictions, local media said.
The splinter groups’ plans remain unclear, said the Hyogo police official.
Investigators are monitoring the situation as the Yamaguchi-gumi’s pledge might only be a one-sided declaration, he said.
Unlike the Italian mafia or Chinese triads, yakuza have long occupied a grey area in Japanese society.
They are not illegal, and each group has its own headquarters in full view of police.
The yakuza grew from the chaos of post-war Japan into multi-billion-dollar criminal organisations. They are involved in a variety of activities, from drugs and prostitution to protection rackets and white-collar crime.
They were long tolerated as a necessary evil for ensuring order on the streets and getting things done quickly – however dubious the means. — AFP
