Crime Doesn't Pay (As Much) in Japan

[mark_15]

http://www.uic.edu/jaddams/mlhrc/images/time_logo2.gif Tetsuya Shiroo woke up that morning and got himself a gun. The same evening, Shiroo — a local gangster, or yakuza, with ties to Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest criminal syndicate — shot and fatally wounded Iccho Ito, the mayor of Nagasaki. While the shooting first appeared to be a hit, reports soon suggested that Shiroo was motivated by petty personal grievances: He reportedly blamed a minor car accident on city construction work, and wanted $17,000 in damages from the Nagasaki government. There was something almost absurd in the spectacle of an aging gangster murdering a high-profile politician over a point of pride and a virtual pittance, like some Japanese version of Paulie Walnuts in the Sopranos.

Japan's top yakuzasyndicates appeared to think so, too, because they quickly distanced themselves from Shiroo, putting out word that he had acted alone. Still, some yakuza experts are skeptical. The Japanese media reported that Shiroo had tried and failed to help a yakuza-linked company win government construction contracts. Nagasaki had excluded the company as part of a nationwide push to reduce yakuza influence in the construction sector, and Ito's murder may have been intended to intimidate local officials. Whatever his motivation, Shiroo's brazen act highlights the crisis facing the yakuza as such traditional revenue sources as construction and extortion dry up thanks to vastly reduced public spending, greater transparency in business, and growing regional income disparity.

Continue reading... (http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1614717,00.ht ml)

[la_tina512]

I can't think of any reason why this country allows these gangsters to operate on their businesses and be called associates whereas they are being scorned and frowned upon in other countries like the U.S.A. and Europe. It really doesn't make any sense.

The killing of Mayor Itcho Ito of Nagasaki is another thing. It was senseless. The Japanese men are still full of arrogance and pride, at least majority of them. I still can see it, even inside my home.

[summergirl]

Thats right ,strict country but not paying much<Crime>

[mOtt_erU]

Thats right ,strict country but not paying much<Crime>

I agree...kadalasan nga nakapatay na eh less than 10 years....minsan 4-7 yrs lang ang pataw para makulong... jUsko buhay ang nawala... parang wala lang.... sana kung gaanO sila kagaling at ka~effective sa pagsasagawa ng mga imbestigasyOn during a crime..eh ganun din ang gawin nila sa justice system nila... kaninang umaga lang, hentai na sensei sa sho gakko, naglagay ng hidden cam paran ganun para ma~picture~an ang undies ng isang studyante.... ayan nahuli na`t lahat lahat... nalabas na sa terebi at shimbun yung balita... nameless naman kung sinO... kumbaga unfair... pOrket teacher...eh yun na nga eh yung inaasahan mOng matinO at pagtitiwalaan mo ng anal mo tas yun pa pala ang wala sa katinuan ang pag~iisip eh! hentai!....sana iimprove talaga nila "justice" system nila ditO.