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• Author, Atahualpa Amerise
• Role, BBC News Mundo

• New Informate one minute wey don pass

Di ogbonge lights, skyscrapers and temples for Japan get hidden work wey don dey fear and surprise pipo for centuries.

Di yakuza, wey be di oldest crime joinbodi for world, get code of honor, tradition, rituals and symbols wey make dem different from oda criminal networks like di Latin American cartels or di Italian or Russian mafias.

Dem get 25 syndicates or "families" wey form am, wey include three main ones wey di hundreds of oda smaller group dey report give, under ogbonge class system.

Dem start ova 400 years ago, for di Japan wey feudal lords and samurai bin dey reign, di yakuza bin face dia golden age between di 1960s and 1980s, wen e grow to ova 180,000 members.

Di way dem hold on to dia traditions as time dey cause advancement plus all di legal and police wahala, dia numbers don drop to like 10,000 and dat na if you no count unofficial and associated members.

We go give you four keys to take understand dis criminal organization wey dey fight to survive witout say dem lose di koko of dia being for dis 21st century.

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1. Di name and origin

Di word yakuza na from di numbers 8,9,3 (wey for Japan dem dey pronounce as ya, ku, za) wey be di worst possible card you fit play for di traditional Japanese card game oicho-kabi, wey fit bring out meaning of bad luck.

Na why plenty members prefer to call am gokudo (di extreme way) or ninkyo dantai (honorable or chivalrous organization).

Di yakuza start for di 17th century among small groups for Japanese feudal systems like di bakuto (travelling gamblers), tekiya (travelling salesmen) and samurai wey no get work or ronin.

Many of dis jobless samurai start gangs wey turn to full criminal organizations.

Di tekiya and bakuto take up plenti of di samurai traditions, wey include strict code of honour and rituals of loyalty, wey mark di culture wey dey run di organization of di yakuza.

Di samurai legacy na im also give di yakuza dia ogbonge class system wit rules on mutual respect, obedience and absolute loyalty to di oga or oyabun.

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2. Dia values and rituals

Na di yakuza ogbonge system of value and ideology wey do tay reach feudal Japan make am different.

Ova di centuries, di yakuza don mix wit Japanese society, e enta all di layers of society, from di most expensive neighbourhoods for Tokyo to di underworld of Japan capital, and from legal business go di most hidden.

Sociologist Noboru Hirosue, author of several books on Japanese mafia wey dey seen as one of di top sabi pipo on di mata for di world, tell BBC Mundo say, "di yakuza get code wey dey hype traditional masculinity. Dia essence na around di idea to 'live and die like men".

Members "believe say dem must dedicate demselves physically and mentally to di organization and dey see am as honourable to give loyalty wey tanda gidigba to dia oyabun, even if e reach make dem die," na wetin Hirosue tok.

Di koko of yakuza ideology na di code of honour wey come from di concept of giri (obligation) and ninjo (humanity).

Giri na di debt of honor wey member owe im oga, na wetin be di seal of loyalty for di organization, while ninjo na empathy for odas wey im work na to balance di rigid nature of giri for di mafia structure.

Di two of dem na self sacrifice spirit dey sustain dem, wey dey make members to put di interest of di group above dia own.

For example, di ritual of yubitsume wia member dey cut small part of dia finger, wey usually be dia small finger to take tok sorry to dia oyabun if dem or pesin under dem do mistake.

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Hirosue explain say, "to lose finger for mistake na embarrassment but to sacrifice di little finger as payment fo your junior failure dey honourable."

Dis tradition sha no dey common like bifor, nowadays na money fines members of di Japanese mafia dey carry pay for dia mistakes.

Even though di yubitsume dey shocking, di most important ritual for di yazuka na di sakazuki, wey be di intiation ritual wia new member go follow dia oga drink sake.

Dis na act to show di adoption of di kobun, wey be di new member of di "family", wey don turn di oyabun "son".

Hirosue explain say, "yazuka groups be like fake family wia di ogas dem dey called anesiki or older broda, di oga brodas, oniisan or uncles, and dem dey call di oga wife anesan or elder sister".

Dis joinbodi no get official political ideology but dey normally identify wit Japanese right or far right.

Martina Baradel, wey be Oxford University researcher and expert on di world of Japanese crime, tell BBC Mundo say "di idea of Japan first, samurai tradition, honor and Japan 'ogbonge' imperial past dey gel wit far-right politics, so ideological connections dey".

Baradel add say na wetin dey make di yakuza to cooperate sometimes conservative political parties even though dem dey deny am so dia image go dey clean.

3. Dia legal status and wetin dem dey do

Unlike oda criminal organizations worldwide, di yakuza neva don dey illegal, even though laws don don dey wey dey choke dia activities.

Hirosue tok say, "di Italian mafia dey completely underground, while di yakuza dey work openly."

Di syndicates of di yakuza dey uually bring up di right to free association for di Japan Constitution.

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Di scholar note say, "as long as dem no threaten national security, public morals or public order, dem no need dey under goment control."

Infact bifor di late 20th century, many yakuza headquarters bin dey display dia signs for door, dia number bin dey directories and dia members bin dey give oit business cards for meetings if dem dey work for company.

But ova fi past three decades, di Japanese goment don tighten laws to reduce funding for criminal groups, isolate dem, make dia work to dey harder, and to reduce dia influence for society.

Even though e still dey legal to dy di yakuza, di goment don dey chook eye well-well into dia mata.

Martina Baradel tok say, "wen pesin commit crime and dem try am, if dem be member of di yakuza, dem go take dia action as pattern and give dem longer sentence than oda pipo for di same crime."

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But wetin di yakuza dey do?

Traditionally, dia syndicates dey run gambling businesses, extortion like mikajime-ryo or "payment for protection," debt collection, illegal loans, prostitution rings and drug trafficking and so on.

Hirosue explain say dem dey work through front companies for legal businesses like real estate, construction and demolition, labor dispatching or stock trading.

But wit di way di laws against organized crime don tight so, wit di laws of 1992 and 2010 wey dey prosecute dia work and give dem beta punishment, di way dem dey operate don shift.

Di sabi pesin tok say, "dem don slowly start to dey hide and do dia crimes like swindling, robbery and theft. So, you fit say dia work don change from intimidation to deception".

E add say "recently, dem collabo wit semi-organized groups wey dem dey call hangure to commit crimes like fraud, robbery, theft, drug trafficking and human trafficking."

Even as anti-yazuka laws don dey reduce dia numbers, e still dey hard for members wey wan comot to just join society again.

Di so called 5 year clause wey no dey allow company or pipo to pay yakuza members, na im dey also make am hard for di member wey comot to open bank accounts, rent house or evn get phone line. Hirosue say, dat one go make dem vex for society.

Dia tattoos, symbols and weapons

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Hirosue say, "for Japan culture, tattoo na traditionally linked wit dangerous work like coal miners and fisherman so if pesin get accident wey di face no dey again dem go fit use di tattoo to see who e be."

But ova di centuries, tattoo wey dem dey call irezumi don turn sometin wey don almost become di symbol for di yakuza.

Dem dey wia symbols like of koi carp, dragons, cherry blossoms, samurai warriors and oda traditional Japanese elements wey show di pesin personality , achievements or life history as well as dia loyalty to di group.

Sabi pesin say na like oath wey you dey promise sat you go be yakuza for life.

Japan na place wey no too like tattoo as dem dey linked to crime and dem dey ban pipo wey get tattoo to go many public places like sauna, swimming pools and beach.

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Di yakuza dey also use badges, flags and oda tins to show who be dia members togeda wit tattoos.

Anoda tin wey make di Japanese mafia to dey different from oda mafia dem for world be say, dem no dey too use gun like at and according to Hirosue na bicos of di kain punishment dem fit face.

Instead dem dey use razor and knives like how di samurais bin dey use tantō, also but not normally, dem go use catanas, but dem no really need weapon to enforce tins.

Sabi pesin say, "Wen dem wan intimidate pesin, dem fit just drop di name dia group to show power."

But wen yakuza wan fight, e fit turn deadly. E say, "wetin dey make yakuza scary be say dem ready to kill pesin wen fight happun."