Tokuryū, a new crime menace in Japan, emerges from the shadows

The National Police Agency coined the term "tokuryū" to classify individuals involved in dark part time jobs and quasi-gangsters, using the words "tokumei" (anonymous) and "ryūdo" (fluid) to reflect their characteristics.

by KARIN KANEKO
May 6, 2024

Japan's introduction of laws and regulations against organized crime in recent years forced the yakuza into hiding, but in the wake of this comes a new menace in the form of the tokuryū — quasi-gangsters who thrive on anonymity and a lack of structure — with even regular folks caught up in crime.

The emergence of "dark" part-time jobs that entrap young people in illegal activities, blurring the lines between the underworld and ordinary citizens, testifies to the growing presence of these quasi-gangsters in society.

Unlike the yakuza, which have a hierarchical structure and strict codes of conduct, tokuryū lack a clear organizational structure, and the geographical scope of their activities is wide, even extending overseas — the notorious Luffy crime ring that operated from the Philippines being one such example.

The recent murder of a couple whose bodies were found in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, is another. Efforts to pinpoint the main culprit in the case have been challenging, with the suspects allegedly hired to carry out the crime seemingly having no solid connection to one another or the unidentified person said to be the source of all instructions.

The National Police Agency coined the term tokuryū to classify individuals involved in dark part-time jobs and quasi-gangsters; the words tokumei (anonymous) and ryūdo (fluid) reflect the characteristics of such individuals, who often operate without knowing one another and can easily disperse and regroup.

Some individuals classified under the category have been found to have connections with traditional organized crime syndicates, contributing a portion of their profits to them, the NPA said.

Noboru Hirosue, a criminology researcher at the Ryukoku University and former probation officer at the Ministry of Justice, attributed the proliferation of tokuryū to ordinances against organized crime, which criminalize membership in organized crime groups. Such an ordinance was first established in Fukuoka Prefecture in 2010 before other similar laws were enacted nationwide the following year.

Traditionally, yakuza have always coexisted with locals, providing services such as the "protection" of businesses. However, the ordinances prohibit locals from conducting business with the yakuza, and companies affiliated to the yakuza risk public exposure on government websites and potential financial repercussions, such as loss of clients and greater hurdles in borrowing money from banks, Hirosue said.

While these measures sent the yakuza underground, younger, tech-savvy quasi-gangsters moved to the forefront because such laws do not apply to them.

As society and crime constantly evolve, crime-fighting methods are struggling to keep up, Hirosue said.

He said that among those classified as tokuryū, there are also former members of the yakuza who had quit but were unable to make a living legitimately due to the laws against organized crime, which led them to return to a life of crime.

But he also encountered people including office workers, part-time workers and students who, lured by the promise of high income on social media, got entangled in crime.


“I noticed something odd when I conducted field research. While some showed signs of being members of quasi-organized crime groups, many appeared to be ordinary folks, including young people,” he added.

The NPA said that in most cases, people got involved in crime because they applied for dark part-time jobs on the invitation of friends and seniors as well as through people they got acquainted with on social media.

Among the individuals Hirosue encountered in his research, he also found that the majority of those who got recruited into crime had ended up in such circumstances due to peer pressure from their friends and seniors.

To crack down on tokuryū, the NPA in April established a joint investigation unit comprising 500 experienced investigators across seven prefectures — Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Aichi, Osaka and Fukuoka — where crimes such as robbery and fraud are most often committed.

“The challenge lies in addressing the issue of cross-regional crime, which requires breaking down barriers between prefectural police forces,” Yasuhiro Tsuyuki, the agency's Commissioner General, said during a news conference in December.

“We aim to utilize this approach effectively to apprehend top suspects of fraud and dismantle their operational bases.”

According to the NPA, over 10,000 individuals apprehended from September 2021 through late February are classified as tokuryū.

Its data shows that 6,170 individuals suspected of fraud and 2,292 individuals arrested due to drug-related crimes had no affiliation with organized crime groups. The NPA also said that 1,721 individuals suspected of crime infrastructure activities — which facilitates environments or situations that make it easier to commit crime, such as employing a foreigner without a visa or entering into a sham marriage — and 195 people arrested for robberies and theft had been recruited online.

However, finding the masterminds of these type of crimes is proving challenging, as the advancement of technology, as well as the use of disposable phones and numbers, allows them to remain anonymous, even to the people they hire.

“In most cases, the higher ups are never caught. Usually only those who carried out the crimes are caught,” Hirosue said.

“That’s why this time, the police are strengthening their crackdown by categorizing such individuals as tokuryū and dividing their roles to (catch the masterminds).”