Yakuza aim for ‘private army’ business model in bid to go legit
In interview, head of the Ninkyo Dantai Yamaguchi-gumi said he plans to set up a private military company
Reports that one of Japan’s underworld groups is planning to branch out and provide bodyguards and security personnel for businesses in Southeast Asia have been described as “a logical development” for yakuza gangs looking to earn a living legitimately.
In an interview with Flash magazine, Yoshinori Oda, head of the Ninkyo Dantai Yamaguchi-gumi, said he plans to set up a private military company, which are legal elsewhere.
“Outside of Japan, PMCs already exist in the United States and Europe,” Oda said, according to a translation provided by the Tokyo Reporter web site.
“Since we cannot enter the US, we will establish a branch office in Southeast Asia and establish a contract with that office separately. Upon receiving a request for bodyguard or security services for Japanese nationals, we will be dispatched.”
There has been growing concern among Japanese companies and organisations doing business in some parts of the region about the safety of their staff, particularly after seven members of the Japan International Cooperation Agency were killed in an attack by Islamic militants on a restaurant in Bangladesh in July 2016.
In January 2013, 10 Japanese engineers were among more than 40 people killed when Muslim fundamentalists seized a natural gas plant in Algeria, while businessmen from South Korea and Japan have been the target of kidnappers in Southeast Asian nations in the past.