EDITORIAL: It's still the job of police to crack down on yakuza

Life has suddenly just got tougher for Japan's yakuza organized crime syndicates. Anti-yakuza ordinances came into effect in Tokyo and Okinawa on Oct. 1. They are the last two prefectures to enforce such measures.

Yakuza can no longer subcontract public works projects, nor open new "offices." Printers can now refuse to print "meishi" business cards bearing the names of gang groups, hotels can cancel reservations for banquets hosted by yakuza, and banks can refuse to open accounts for gang members.

The ordinances aim to shut yakuza out of all social and economic activities and stop their cash flows. But this cannot be done unless private citizens and businesses are willing to sever their relations with yakuza. Anyone who "patronizes" gangsters or pays for their "services" will be warned, or such practices will be publicly unmasked, depending on specific cases. More local governments are now moving toward including provisions in their ordinances that will enable people to cancel their business contracts with parties who are found to be associated with yakuza.

How best to tighten the net?

Many people are unsure exactly what constitutes "patronizing" yakuza or how to determine whether their business partners have yakuza connections. The law enforcement authorities need to give specific examples and educate the public thoroughly, and ensure the law is not enforced arbitrarily. The purpose of the anti-gang legislation is definitely not to cause unnecessary concern to ordinary law-abiding citizens.

But there are certain segments of society that have maintained relations with yakuza, willingly or not. Such people should understand that what was marginally legit in the past is now a crime.

Beat Takeshi, who partially revealed his relationship with yakuza in an interview with a weekly magazine, noted, "I'm glad I can now say 'No' (to gangsters) by law."

But the police face a tougher test than the showbiz industry.

Law enforcement authorities have been vowing to eradicate crime syndicates since the enforcement of the Anti-Organized Crime Law in 1992. But it hasn't had much effect. In fact, it has grown increasingly difficult for investigators to obtain information from those with yakuza connections.

Unable to crack down successfully on organized crime, the police have tended to dump the responsibility on society at large. But the ultimate responsibility of manning the frontline in the nation's fight against organized crime lies with the police.

It is their mission to protect citizens who are being threatened by yakuza to maintain their ties. In Fukuoka Prefecture, the police have yet to nab the perpetrator of shooting incidents against anti-yakuza companies and others. The police campaign to eradicate organized crime is doomed to fail if the public cannot trust or rely on law enforcement officers.

With society becoming much less yakuza-friendly, some gangs may burrow deeper underground. A new challenge now is how to deal with former gangsters who have nowhere else to go. The authorities will have to remain attuned to new developments while cracking down harder on organized crime.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 5