Yakuza

Yakuza are Japanese organized crime groups historically associated with formal membership, public offices, and illicit businesses. Their structures and public presence have changed substantially under legal pressure and social change.

Bōryokudan: A Japanese legal and police term for organized crime groups designated under the Anti-Boryokudan Act. This is the principal official category applied to contemporary yakuza groups.
Edo period: The period of Japanese history from 1603 to 1868, when the Tokugawa shogunate ruled from Edo. Accounts of yakuza origins often locate early precursors in Edo-period urban society.
Illegal gambling: Wagering conducted in violation of laws governing gambling and betting. Gambling operations connect the groups' historical bakuto associations to continuing criminal revenue.
Chinese triads: Chinese organized crime societies with varied structures and activity across China and overseas communities. They are a distinct tradition often incorrectly treated as interchangeable with Japanese yakuza.
Yakuza exclusion ordinances: Japanese prefectural rules restricting businesses and individuals from providing benefits or services to designated crime-group members. These ordinances make ordinary transactions harder for members and pressure groups' finances.
Oyabun-kobun: A hierarchical relationship in which a senior figure acts as a parent-like patron and a junior figure as a dependent. Yakuza ties have traditionally been described through this model of authority and obligation.
Tekiya: Traditional Japanese peddlers who organized markets and sometimes controlled stalls through hierarchical associations. Some yakuza lineages trace their roots to tekiya networks and their market authority.
Extortion: Obtaining money, property, or compliance through threats or coercion. Protection demands and coercive payments have been recurring sources of yakuza income.
Italian-American Mafia: Organized crime networks rooted in Italian and Italian-American communities, including the United States Mafia. Comparisons highlight different histories, social settings, and relationships with public visibility.
Yakuza bank account restrictions: Policies and screening practices that deny or close bank accounts for people identified as crime-group members. Financial exclusion translates anti-gang measures into daily barriers to housing and commerce.

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