History Main / Yakuza

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[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]

The Yakuza have been on a rapid decline in recent years. Laws directly and regulations indirectly targeting Yakuza groups have become increasingly strict since the 90s, public opinion of their image has suffered and their membership has begun to dwindle, with informal organized crime and unaffiliated white collar crime filling the vacuum. Some in law enforcement worry about the impact that the death of the Yakuza may have on Japan, as for better or worse the Yakuza have kept gun violence, street crime and drug trafficking low in the country, and are often the only obstacle for aggressive street gangs running wild and RuthlessForeignGangsters setting up shop, with some Yakuza clans even taking pains to protect Japan's lucrative tourism industry, which these international syndicates target with ruthless abandon. As the Yakuza are relatively legitimate and strictly regulated, it is surprisingly easy for police to monitor their activity, and groups will even cooperate with police (if only to sell them a patsy or cut a deal) to come up with solutions for crimes that demand retribution. Compared to gangs and syndicates with less established relationships with the authorities, the Yakuza can be argued as the LesserOfTwoEvils, and since much of their business revolves around moneylending, sexwork and controlling other criminals, the victims of their violence are often considered AcceptableTargets by the general public. Were the Yakuza to disappear, some fear that something far worse would fill the void.

The Yakuza have been on a rapid decline in recent years. Laws directly and regulations indirectly targeting Yakuza groups have become increasingly strict since the 90's, public opinion of their image has suffered and their membership has begun to dwindle, with informal organized crime and unaffiliated white collar crime filling the vacuum. Some in law enforcement worry about the impact that the death of the Yakuza may have on Japan, as for better or worse the Yakuza have kept gun violence, street crime and drug trafficking low in the country, and are often the only obstacle for aggressive street gangs running wild and RuthlessForeignGangsters setting up shop, with some Yakuza clans even taking pains to protect Japan's lucrative tourism industry, which these international syndicates target with ruthless abandon. As the Yakuza are relatively legitimate and strictly regulated, it is surprisingly easy for police to monitor their activity, and groups will even cooperate with police (if only to sell them a patsy or cut a deal) to come up with solutions for crimes that demand retribution. Compared to gangs and syndicates with less established relationships with the authorities, the Yakuza can be argued as the LesserOfTwoEvils, and since much of their business revolves around moneylending, sexwork and controlling other criminals, the victims of their violence are often considered AcceptableTargets by the general public. Were the Yakuza to disappear, some fear that something far worse would fill the void.

* In Wrestling/{{WWE}}, Wrestling/YoshihiroTajiri was given a Yakuza-themed gimmick as part of the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFegvJTzWKQ Kyo Dai]] faction in the early [=2000s=]. However, the faction was short-lived because Tajiri feares that the real Yakuza might become insulted by the portrayal and enact legitimate retribution.

In fiction Yakuza members will almost always be ethnically Japanese, but they are not homogenous in real life. As said earlier, many in mainland Japan are of Korean descent. There have also been notable cases of Hāfu, people of mixed Japanese ancestry, joining. Yakuza also have a presence in Okinawa and other Ryukyu Islands, whose people are ethinically different from Japanese and have their own languages and customs. Overseas clans in places like Hawaii and California also often have non-Japanese members.

** Likewise, the main plot of ''[[https://gamebooks.org/Item/405/Show The Lost Ninja]]'' consists of saving a Japanese guy named Saito([[spoiler: a ninja and the cousin of your best friend Nada]]) who gets kidnapped by the Yakuza due to a loan he took from them but failed to pay back. Again, whenever Saito is successfully rescued and the main protagonist lives to tell the tale or not depends on the reader's decisions. [[spoiler: With that said, [[CuttingOffTheBranches canonically]] speaking, the protanogist did succeed in rescue him, since she is alive and safe in the two book sequels ''Ninja Cyborg'' and ''Ninja Avenger'' and the events of this book are referenced.]]

** Likewise, the main plot of ''[[https://gamebooks.org/Item/405/Show The Lost Ninja]]'' consists of saving a Japanese guy named Saito([[spoiler: a ninja and the cousin of your best friend Nada]]) who gets kidnapped by the Yakuza due to a loan he took from them but failed to pay back. Again, whenever Saito is successfully rescued and the main protagonist lives to tell the tale or not depends on the reader's decisions. [[With that said, [[CuttingOffTheBranches canonically]] speaking, the protanogist did succeed in rescue him, since she is alive and safe in the two book sequels ''Ninja Cyborg'' and ''Ninja Avenger'' and the events of this book are referenced.]]

** Likewise, the main plot of ''[[https://gamebooks.org/Item/405/Show The Lost Ninja]]'' consists of saving a Japanese guy named Saito([[spoiler:who is actually a the titular lost ninja and the cousin of your best friend Nada]]) who gets kidnapped by the Yakuza due to a loan he took from them but failed to pay back.

** Likewise, the main plot of ''[[https://gamebooks.org/Item/405/Show The Lost Ninja]] consists of saving a Japanese guy named Saito([[spoiler:who is actually a the titular lost ninja and the cousin of your best friend Nada]]) who gets kidnapped by the Yakuza due to a loan he took from them but failed to pay back.