Yakuza

Yakuza (from Japanese ??? or ???), also known as gokud?, are members of traditional organized crime groups in Japan.

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In Japanese legal terminology, yakuza organizations are referred to as B?ryokudan, literally "violence groups", or more traditionally "samurai heritage". Yakuza members consider this an insult as B?ryokudan is a term which can be applied to any violent criminal. In the Western press they are frequently called the "Japanese mafia".

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Japanese: When used as an adjective, Japanese refers to anything that originates from Japan. It may refer to more than one article:...

Organized crime: Organized crime is crime carried out systematically by formal criminal organizations. The Organized Crime Control Act (U.S., 1970) defines organized crime as "The unlawful activities of ... a highly organized, disciplined association..."....

Japan: For other uses, see Japan (disambiguation)....