MichaelanApted

UnderCloak
Theloudestoneintheroomisalsotheweakestoneintheroom.TheJapaneseMafiaexcelsin
thisphilosophy,attackingviciouslyandstealthily.Tostrikequicklybeforevanishinginto
darknessisthewayoflifefortheyakuza,themostpowerfulmafiaorganizationintheworld.

TheyakuzaareacollectionoforganizedcrimesyndicatesoriginatingfromJapaninthe17th
century.Ancestorsofthelegendarysamuraiwarriors,theJapanesemafiaarenotoriousfortheir
strictcodesofconductandtheirorganizedoperations,especiallytheirabilitytoconcealtheir
secretiveactions.TheyakuzahavedominatedJapanesemediaandillegalbusiness,andhave
spreadthroughouttheworldwithanestimated103,000internationalmembers,accordingto
EdanCorkilloftheJapanTimes.Theirgreatestgoalisadaptingtofittheglobalizedworld.

Themodernworldisencompassedbyglobalization.Tradeisahugeaspectofeverycountrys
economy,andmediahasmadeprivacyincreasinglyoutdated.Insuchahyperconnectedworld,
theyakuzas,methodsandstructurehavechangedtotakeadvantageofthischanging
environment.Ultimately,globalizationbenefitstheYakuzabysupplyingthemwiththe
internationalresourcestheyneedtoconducttheiroperations.

Theyakuzaarethemostwidespreadmafiaorganizationintheworld.Additionally,theyare
regardedasoneofthemostpowerfulcrimesyndicatestodate,emphasizingthebenefitsof
migration.SinceWorldWarII,ActivitieshavenotjustremainedwithinAsia,nonetheless.
Yakuzahavemovedontovariousotherregionsoftheworld,includingWesternEurope,South
America,andtheMidPacific(Chemko2).

TheyakuzaarespreadingfasterandfasterandhavebeensightedineverycontinentbutAustralia
andAntarctica.Globalizationisakeyaspecttotheyakuzaspreadingtheiroperationsand
membersthroughouttheglobeandeffectivelydominatingcountryaftercountry.

Thelargeamountoftraderoutesbetweencountriesensuresamplesmugglingroutestoandfrom
alargeassortmentofcountries.TheYakuzasfavoriteforeigntargetistheUS.TheNational
PoliceAgencyofJapanstatesinAnthonyBrunosarticlethattheyakuza,in2004,grossed
almost10billionU.S.dollarsin[foreign]revenue,onethirdfromcrystalmethamphetamine,a
relativelynewandpowerfulstimulantknownonthestreetas'ice.'Theyakuzacontrolan
estimated90percentofthe'ice'flowintoHawaii.Thismoneyinflowcontributestothe
monetarygainsofaglobalizedworldfortheJapanesemafia.Globalizationisthesolereasonfor
theYakuzasincreasedrevenuesinceexpandingintoforeigncountries.

SincetheyakuzahasmigratedintotheU.S.,theirrevenuehasincreasedbybillions.Inthe
criminalworld,moneyiseverything.Thisrangesfromacquiringbetterweaponstokeeping
authoritiesquiet.Additionally,expandingthroughouttheworldprovidestheyakuzawithgreater
andmorevariedopportunitiesfortheirnefariousventures.Withoutthisnewmoney,theyakuza
wouldbemuchweakerandsmaller,perhapsalreadydisposedof.Duringhistrial,aHawaiian
detectiveconfessedtobeingpaidthousandstopretendnottonoticea2tonshipmentof

cannabisandcrystalmethbytheyakuza.Thisisademonstrationofmoneybeingpowerforthe
yakuza,powergreatlywaxingsincetheemergenceofahyperconnectedworld.

Withincreasedsocialinteractionsbetweencountriesanddecreasedsecrecy,theyakuzaisata
higherriskofbeingexposedatthehandsoflocalandforeignauthorities.However,theyakuza
hasdevisedmethodstocombattheserisksbymovingandsplittingoperationsbetweencountries.
USAauthoritiescan'tevenkeeptheyakuzathemselvesoutofthecountry.Why?Becausethe
nationalpolicerefusestoshareintelligence.Lastyear,aformerFBIagenttoldmethat,ina
decadeofconferences,theNPAhadturnedoverthenamesandbirthdatesofabout50yakuza
members.Fiftyoutof80,000(Adelstein2).Globalizationallowsthemafiatospreadtoother
countries,yetstilllimitscommunicationbetweennationalauthorities.Inaglobalizedworld,
combinedlegalauthoritiesmightposeagreatthreattotheyakuza.However,theyakuzaisable
tolimitcommunicationbetweencountries,renderingthispotentialweaknessmoot.

Utilizingthelanguagebarrierandlimitedcommunicationbetweencountrysauthorities,the
yakuzaconstantlyjumpfromareatoarea,leavingnationalpolicefrustratedandunsuccessful.
Anagentworkingtoundercoveranyinformationabouttheyakuzamightwasteyears
discoveringinformationthatwillthenbecomeuselessasthemafiarunstoanothercountry,
outsideoftheagentsreach.Thisbrilliantprocessallowstheyakuzatonotonlythwartthe
disadvantagesofglobalizationbutevenusethemtotheadvantageoftheirsecrecy.

Throughglobalization,theyakuzahavealmostdoubledtheirprofits,negatedtheeffectsof
decreasedsecrecy,andspreadallovertheglobe.Thisnotonlyensurestheyakuzascurrently
strongandnumerousstanding,butallowsthemtoonlyspreadandgrowmorepowerfulinthe
comingtimesofincreasedconnectivity.Globalizationmeansnothingbutpowerfortheyakuza,a
powerthatonlymeansgreatertroubleinfuture,athronefortheJapanesemafia.

Ridingthewaveofglobalizationontheircruiseshipoffortune,theyakuzahasbeendominating
thecrimesceneacrosstheglobe.InordertocombattheJapanesemafiasutilizationof
globalization,policewillhavetobecomeconnectedaswell.Japansauthoritiesmust
communicatewiththeUS,andallcountriesaffectedmustworktogethertoshutdownoperations
andjailyakuzamembers.Withoutunitedlawenforcement,theyakuzahasfreereigntojump
fromcountrytocountryandconducttheirillegaloperations,leavingtheirformerpursuersinthe
dust.Unlessthisgapofcommunicationisclosed,theyakuzawillonlygrowmoreandmore
powerful,whileauthoritiesdonothingbutwatch.

Thisglobalizedworldbringsaboutanewworldoftheyakuzaoperation.Traderoutesare
formed,sodrugsaresmuggled..Detectivesstarttalking,sobribesandblackmailkeepthem
quiet.Communicationspreads,sotheyakuzatagsalong.Ifanything,globalizationspeaksto
onlyonethingabouttheyakuza.Theyarecoming.

WordCount:982

WorksCited

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Bruno,Anthony."Crim.Ent.,YakuzaUSA&More."
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Dec.2012.Web.02Mar.2015.<http://sjyakuzasj.tripod.com/yakuza/id2.html>.

Chemko,Victoria."TheJapaneseYakuza:InfluenceOnJapan'sInternationalRelationsand
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TheInfluenceoftheJapaneseYakuzaonInternationalRelations
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