Abstract: This book has three main objectives. Firstly, it examines Japan's organized crime syndicates (most commonly known as yakuza or bryokudan) with reference to the best available theoretical analyses of the Sicilian mafia and other manifestations of organized crime. Like the Sicilian mafia, the core competence of the yakuza is providing protection and, because of this, it can be considered a mafia. Secondly, it provides a comprehensive overview of the historical development, structure, and business activities of the contemporary yakuza. Thirdly, it investigates the relationship between the yakuza and the state, paying particular attention to the effects of the 1992 bryokudan countermeasures law. The collapse of the bubble economy during the early 1990s, which had a major impact on the yakuza's activities, makes it difficult to evaluate the impact of this law. The book concludes that the preference of the Japanese authorities for social control processes over formal mechanisms of enforcement and dispute resolution has created a conducive environment for private protection markets. Yakuza provision of such protection has been one consequence. Current developments in the set Japan's social, legal, economic, and political relations suggest, however, that this market is under threat.

Keywords: bryokudan, comparative law, Japan, law, mafia, organized crime (organized crime), protection, Yakuza