Yakuza once operated from well-marked offices, often with signs out front and symbols of their trade such as lanterns and samurai swords visible through the windows.

According to the NPA figures, the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan’s largest yakuza group lost 2,000 members in 2013 from 25,700 the previous year, and its rival gang, the Sumiyoshi-kai, lost 1,100 members ...

The yakuza have long occupied an ambiguous position in Japan. Like their Italian cousins, they have deep if murky historical links with the country's ruling party, the Liberal Democrats.

TOKYO—In movies about the yakuza, the Japanese mafia, and in the real concrete jungles of the Japanese underworld, there is what might be called The Circle of Death. Every assassination tends to ...

Thai police arrested 74-year-old Japanese yakuza (crime syndicate) boss Shigeharu Shirai—who had been on the run for 15 years—after Facebook photos of his tattoos went viral.

The yakuza is dominated by men and leaves only informal roles to women. Typically a woman might be a boss' wife who takes care of young affiliates and mediates between them and her husband.

The yakuza have strong links to the entertainment biz, but the times may be changing as the government cracks down on gangs. Japanese TV Host’s Resignation Shines Light on Showbiz Mob Ties ...

There are signs Japan's organised crime groups, known as yakuza, are heading for an all-out gang war after a recent surge in gang-related violence. Over the weekend a two tonne rubbish truck was ...