Japanese Mafia Wants to Go Legal in Southeast Asia

A Japanese mafia boss wants to set up a branch in Southeast Asia to legally supply bodyguards to the world market.

Yoshinori Oda (center). Photo: TBS News.

Yoshinori Oda, boss of the Ninkyo Dantai Yamaguchi-gumi gang, said he is planning to set up a private military company - a legal model in some countries around the world - in an effort to make a legal living, according to SCMP.

"Private military companies already exist in the US and Europe. Since we are not qualified to go to the US, we will set up an office in Southeast Asia. When there is a contract to hire Japanese bodyguards or security personnel, we will send people," Oda said.

After seven members of the Japan International Cooperation Agency were killed in an Islamist militant attack on a restaurant in Bangladesh in June 2016, a growing number of Japanese companies and organizations overseas are concerned about the safety of their employees.

However, according to Japanese magazine Flash, it is still unclear whether any Japanese company wants to sign a security contract with this famous mafia organization.

Jake Adelstein, an American reporter who specializes in investigating Japanese gangsters, saidNinkyo Dantai - a group that split from Japan's largest mafia organization Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, seems to be preparing for this new business plan.

"Last week, Japanese police arrested several members of the group along with a shipment of handguns, indicating that the gang is actively preparing to expand its market," Adelstein said.

"It's clear that this group is looking for new ways of doing business, something that no other gang has done because gangs in Japan are being restricted by the police and new laws."

An American reporter said that "the yakuza (Japanese mafia) have the advantage of being willing to sacrifice their lives to protect their masters, always obeying, not afraid to use violence, and most masters really like this style."Yoshinori Oda, 50, is a man who often talks about big plans, and the project to open a private military company is just one of his ideas.

In addition, Adelstein believes that if the gang opens offices in countries like Thailand or the Philippines, the Japanese yakuza can easily hire retired soldiers to train group members in military skills, making the gang stronger.

According to VNE