Just saw this lecture by the Author of "Tokyo Vice", Jake Adelstein.
http://www.tokyoreporter.com/2009/10/27/on-the-tokyo-vice-beat-with-jake-adelstein/
I thought the lecture was really interesting. He made it seem like the Yakuza is behind a huge amount of stuff in Japan, and that the Japanese don't really try to take them on.
I have read quite a bit here and there about the Yakuza and have always been fascinated with them as I am with all mafia. I find that when criminals become organized they start to take a political character. So it is not surprising that in fact the Yakuza were closely tied to the LDP when it was starting out.
Anyhow it was really interesting. I have this feeling that old mafia like the Yakuza are better than a free for all of new gangs competing against one another for control over criminal enterprises. However, crime itself is obviously wrong and detrimental to the values of society. It seems like it should be the goal of every society to rid itself of criminal elements. But, in every society there are criminals and criminal organizations. It is really an interesting topic.
This lecture also helped reinforce my interest in the criminal law class that I'm taking at Temple, which compares the systems in the US and Japan. I really think that my friend ought to have been here since he is writing about the Yakuza for his paper.
