Doing the splits
A rare break-up in the world of Japan’s criminal gangs
IN THE demi-monde of Kabukicho, a warren of striptease bars, cabaret clubs and brothel fronts that makes up Tokyo’s main red-light district, the night manager of the Parisienne Café frets about the yakuza. Japan’s biggest organised-crime group, the Yamaguchi-gumi, with 23,400 members, split last month. On September 5th more than a dozen of its factions gelled into a new, rival outfit. A yakuza shoot-out with Chinese mobsters in the Parisienne once killed one gang member and injured more. The café’s manager now fears the risk of renewed warfare.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Doing the splits”
From the September 12th 2015 edition
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