Last but not least: The Mafia Magazine
Who has never heard of the yakuza clans? But their image is not particularly great at the moment. That's why they are now advertising - for themselves - with a magazine.
Japan's largest mafia family, Yamaguchi-gumi, is going on a publicity tour with the magazine to combat its own dwindling membership. The eight-page brochure contains a page of poetry, readings on traditional board games and reports on fishing trips by some gangster bosses, as the Sankei Shimbun newspaper reported on Wednesday. The magazine is not available to the public. This is the Yamaguchi-gumi's response to the yakuza crisis, as the mafia is known in Japan. "They obviously feel that it has become more difficult for them since they are no longer allowed to open bank accounts or sign real estate contracts due to new laws," said a police insider.
According to the national police authority, Yamaguchi-gumi lost 3,300 members last year. Like the mafia in Italy, the yakuza clans in Japan are involved in all kinds of illegal activities, from gambling, drug dealing, prostitution and extortion of protection money to white-collar crime with front companies. Despite this, the clans are not banned; the authorities only take action against obvious crimes. (uma/SDA)
Teaser image: Keystone
