| The Yakuza, a general term for the organized crime syndicate in Japan also known as Boryokudan, is well-known for its unique culture and relationship it maintains with the public, media and police. In 1992, the legislature of Japan implemented the Anti-Organized Crime Law (Botaiho) to crack down on the Yakuza's influence over the Japanese society and targeted their financial activities in particular. The purposes of this study are to develop a broader understanding of the Yakuza, to introduce the new law, and to examine how the Yakuza and crime rates have been affected by the law.; The results of this study indicated that the effect of the law in deterring Yakuza activities can be reasonably identified in gambling, extortion, aggravated assault, simple assault, weapon, and prostitution offenses. A possible effect was recognized in homicide, robbery and drug offenses, but there appeared to be no significant decrease in the total number of Yakuza in the population. |
