Having its own magazine may not help the Japanese underworld

It’s clearly tougher than ever to be a tough in Japan. As better (and legal) opportunities beckon and the police decides to combat crime in earnest, crime is beginning to not pay. Moreover, judging from the pioneering mob magazine recently brought out by Japan’s largest crime syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi, it’s becoming as difficult for them to hold on to talent as the world’s foremost corporations.

High attrition rates should be a cause for concern for any sprawling organisation, but more so for one that by its very nature operates in adverse environments. Telling their 27,000-odd members via the newsletter that they should adhere to the core values of the yakuza — which gained them their most feared status — is logical, but unless the top leadership displays the ability to enforce it and bring the company back on track, mere communication will have little effect.

The US crackdown on the yakuzas’ new white-collar expansion plans as well as its core business of extortion, drugs and human trafficking has evidently hurt future profitability and prospects. That would explain the marked decline in employee levels across all similar organisations in Japan, as well as a decrease in interest by potential recruits.

Unfortunately for the yakuza, there will be little sympathy for the demise of this particular ancient tradition.