New vs. Old. Could the Cosa Nostra be next?

Weak economy hits Japan's gangsters
Posted by Charley Blaine on Tuesday, October 6, 2009 3:56 PM

How's the Japanese economy doing? Maybe not so good, which may come as a surprise as the yen continues to rise against the dollar. Times are tough enough that some gangsters in Japan are actually having to pass exams to be, well, gangsters.

Gangsters, known as yakuza, are on the run as growth wanes and deflation worsens. Yet the oddest development by far involves yakuza members sitting for exams covering key aspects of their work. If you think this is just a law-enforcement issue, think again, Bloomberg News said today. It’s a sign Japan’s funk will be longer than economists predict.

That may surprise those betting Japan is recovering. Oddly, though, the plight of gangsters tells the story. Huddled over legal texts and documents isn’t the popular image of Japan’s storied mobsters. When they aren’t collecting debts, shaking down shop owners, overseeing prostitution rings or rigging stocks, members of Japan’s biggest organized crime group, Yamaguchi-gumi, are studying for 12-page tests. The tests allow gangs to weed out their weaker links. Surreal? Yes, but also a telltale sign of the seriousness of Japan’s deflationary cycle.

The yakuza are having to work harder than ever to get by and are stepping up education efforts. This column isn’t meant to convey sympathy for them. It’s that the advent of a yakuza version of the Series 7 exam that stockbrokers take is a bad omen -- very bad.

"The yakuza are a real barometer," says Jake Adelstein, a blogger and the author of a new book, "Tokyo Vice." "When the yakuza are doing poorly, the economy is doing poorly."

That has nothing to do with this discussion.

Neither do you but you don't see anyone else complaining.

I've been staying on topic ever since I started this discussion.

You've already been suspended twice for going off-topic and and acting like a jerk in these threads. Don't make it a third time. (Three strikes and you're out).

The Yakuza is the Japanese Mafia. They're no joke from what I heard.

Yeah I know but this board seems to be more inspired by the Italian Mafia from what I've seen.

Why's that? I'm interested in all kinds of mafia. Yakuza is a whole different kind of mafia.

The Italian Mafia is the only Mafia, those different ethnic gangs are not Mafias, Mafia is only Cosa Nostra.

So what is for you the definition of the meaning 'Mafia'?

Mafia only coincides with Italian organized crime aka Cosa Nostra.

Not anymore it doesn't, it has too broader a term nowadays, it's called evolution.

Yes but the correct meaning of it is Cosa Nostra, all those other ethnic gangs shouldn't be called "Mafias" because like I said Mafia is only meant to mean Cosa Nostra.

It's a term of expression, either way, a derogatory one.

The mafia was invented in Sicily. So what you should say is Italians invented the Mafia. However, these days it goes for all organized crime groups around the world. So race really doesn't matter. The reason we like talking about the the Italian mob on this forum is because most of us here are Italian.

Agreed, but referring to other ethnic gangs as Mafias is incorrect even though people these days refer to all organized crime groups as Mafias, but it's still incorrect.

Ethnic gangs like the bloods, crips, latin kings and MS-13 are just a bunch of lowlife hoods. Those are just street gangs and not OC groups. There's a big difference betweeen a gang and a mafia. The mafia is organized and criminal street gangs don't know crap about loansharking, extortion and hijacking trucks. They also don't have politicians in their pockets.

True

@DiMaggio: indeed there's a big difference between a gang and a mafia, but we're not talking about a gang. For me the Yakuze isn't a gang, but a mafia. Why? Because mafia for me isn't necessarily a Sicilian thing but a way of life/acting.

@ITB: Cosa Nostra is something the journalists and 'show off' mobsters of America made up. No Sicilian mafia called themselves Cosa Nostra.

@DiMaggio: Mafia isn't invented. It's not that someone at some time tought: 'well, if I do this and that, it will result in this...and I call that Mafia'. And if you still think that's true, why isn't it possible that someone else also tought this (meaning Japanese people who 'invented' the same)?

Actually M.M., Joe Valachi (the very first Mafioso who ever ratted and the person who showed everyone the Mafia's existence in case you didn't know), was the one who said it was called Cosa Nostra, I've seen the tapes.

FYI,

It actually was invented, but you're right not the same way the light bulb was invented. You missed my point for sure. The mafia was originally started in Sicily many years ago when the French occupied the Island. Read the history about the mafia or get a book about it.

About the Yakuza topic if you would have read my earlier post you would've noticed that I was saying it was a mafia organization so you should actually be agreeing with me on that. I Don't understand.

Your right about saying that I misread your post. You did say Yakuza is Mafia. Sorry for that.

But what you say about the fact that Mafia originally started in Sicily during French occupation (I think you mean the period that Karel from Anjou was the ruler ?) I can't agree. For me the Mafia was something that came up over a long period of time and it started when the first occupation of Sicily happened.

(FYI Dont insult me by saying 'Read the history..or get a book about it'. I've read a lot about Sicilian Mafia and that's my main point of interest between different mafia's, gangs, organized crime. I didn't read so many about any other Mafia..)

I'm not sure if it was when the french occupied Sicily but I do know that the Mafia was created when Sicily was being occupied by foreigners and they tried to take it over, the Mafia was created to kick the foreigners out and to stop the killing of the Sicilian people. No one knows who came up with the idea, but we do know that a group of peasants came up with it and created it. But take into account that was the Sicilian Mafia (Cosa Nostra), there are other Mafias in Naples (Camorra) and Calabria ('Ndrangheta). The earliest records of the Mafia originated in Sicily so it could've spread into the other areas of Italy.

And what about the Beati Paoli? That's even before Cosa Nostra and the others...and the Beati Paoli is an order of knights.

If it's an order of knights than it sure as hell isn't a Mafia.

Sure? Beati Paoli is most probably the predecessor of Sicilian Mafia. Mafiosi as Calderone and Riina refer to them in different ways. Calderone says that the Beati Paoli should be examples of how Mafiosi should live.

Well, we all have our own opinions on where it actually was started. I think it started in Sicily after the woman ran through the streets yelling "ma fia ma fia" as loud as she can. After that time frame is basically when the Sicilian people had enough of the French, and were not taking it anymore. There were many Robin hood type of people in Sicily. One of them was Salvatore Giuliano, but he came centuries later. Nobady was insulting you just letting you know that there's books out there regarding this topic.

Funny how the only information I could find on the Beati Paoli being the predecessors of the Mafia is on Wikipedia.

And you can also read:

John Follain: 'Dishonoured Society' Chapter 1
Gaia Servadio: 'The Maffia' Chapter 2
Pieter Feller: 'Maffia' Chapter 1
Letizia Paoli: 'Mafia Brotherhoods' Chapter 5

And I think I can search for some books more in my collection.

@DiMaggio:

The origins of the word are most probably not from the one you mention:

Other Topic

I'll go with 1 and 2.