Yakuza: Japan's Not-So-Secret Mafia

60 Minutes' Lara Logan Reports On The Yakuza, Whose Criminal Influence Is Worldwide

(CBS)  The Yakuza is one of the most powerful organized crime syndicates in the world. It is Japan's not-so-secret version of the Mafia, with 85,000 members who trace their roots back to 17th century Samurai warriors.

Deeply embedded in Japanese business and culture, the Yakuza also have their tentacles into this country and American law enforcement knows it.

One man they keep a close eye on is Tadamasa Goto, a ruthless "Godfather."

Ordinarily such a notorious mobster wouldn't even be allowed into the United States, but Tadamasa Goto not only got into the country, he jumped to the top of a long waiting list for a life-saving liver transplant at UCLA Medical Center.

"What does it mean in Japan to be a Yakuza?" correspondent Lara Logan asked a Yakuza boss - a rival of Goto's who agreed to be interviewed if 60 Minutes masked his identity and did not use his name.

"To be a Yakuza in Japan is to live an unalterable way of life. It's not an occupation. It's to follow and explore the lives of the Samurai, the code of the Samurai," the man told Logan.

Asked how a person can tell if someone is a Yakuza, the man told Logan, "It's the smell….The smell of another beast."

"When you join the Yakuza, they become your family," Jake Adelstein told Logan.

No American knows more about the inner workings of the Yakuza than Adelstein. He has spent the last 15 years in Tokyo investigating and writing about the mob.

"Generally speaking, Yakuza get rid of bodies by dumping them in the foundations of buildings. They own a lot of construction companies. So, you know, you're pouring a new building. You throw the body in, like, the cement. And nobody ever finds it. The buildings go all up, all the time in Tokyo," Adelstein explained.

It's impossible to miss the mark of a Yakuza: severed fingers. Tradition demands when a mistake is made, they chop off their own finger to atone and present the severed part to their boss. Many have ornate tattoos that often cover their entire body, marking them for life.

But unlike the Mafia in America, Yakuza don't hide their membership in the mob, because it's not illegal in Japan to be a member of organized crime. And they are so much a part of Japanese culture, they parade openly.

"Right now, we don't hide the fact that we're Yakuza," the anonymous Yakuza boss told Logan.

He was introduced to "60 Minutes" by Jake Adelstein in downtown Tokyo. Beneath his expensive suit, his body is a canvas, like many Yakuza, covered with intricate tattoos.

"Physically, the tattoos take their toll on your body," Logan remarked.

"The tattoos are so dense that it's very hard to sweat, which means when you can't get rid of the toxins in your body, that's also very hard on the liver," Adelstein explained.

What's also hard on the liver is the hedonistic lifestyle of the Yakuza.

As she walked down the main street of Tokyo's entertainment and "red light" district, Logan explained, "This is traditional Yakuza turf. They run everything from the girls to the sex, to the drugs. But the modern Yakuza is a different animal, adding corporate takeovers, financial fraud and insider trading to their criminal portfolio."

That's how Tadamasa Goto made most of his money. According to Japanese police files, he amassed an estimated billion dollar fortune through nearly 100 front companies.

He is one of the richest and most violent godfathers in Japan. That's why he's known to U.S. law enforcement as the "John Gotti of Japan."

But there was one thing Goto's power and money couldn't buy him in his homeland. He had liver disease and desperately needed a transplant.

Culturally, the Japanese don't believe in organ donation, so to get a new liver, he needed to come to the U.S. For a Yakuza, that should have been a problem, said Mike Cox, the chief of immigration and customs at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

"We want to be a welcoming country, the United States. But certainly we don't want the Yakuza coming to the United States," Cox told Logan. "They have extensive criminal histories here in Japan. They are members of criminal organizations. For both of those reasons they would be ineligible to enter the United States."

[doubtingthomas28]

I don't think this piece should be taken as something saying "hey, let's not donate organs" but rather "hey, let's find out what really happened at UCLA." I read Adelstein's book and he makes a good case that what UCLA did is money laundering and that's a federal crime. They should be investigated--so that people's faith in the system is restored.

[WilliamBanzai7]

?I?ve got news for you,? he shoots back, eyes narrowing. ?If the financial system goes down, our business is going down and, trust me, yours and everyone else?s is going down, too.?

Lloyd Blankfein, CEO Goldman Sachs

Has anyone checked to see if Blankfein has a full body tattoo or is missing a pinky? ToBiguToFaru Gang....

[e008834]

I will never be an organ donor, after having viewed this story.

[floridainfodude]

While I found a number of problems with the story, I found Lara Logan's use of "Girls" when she should have said "prostitutes" just stupid. She should know better and if she doesn't somebody at CBS should.

[dumpDCToday]

"The Yakuza is one of the most powerful organized crime syndicates in the world. It is Japan's not-so-secret version of the Mafia, with 85,000 members who trace their roots back to 17th century Samurai warriors."

Now that is a laugh! Apparently the Zionists that control CBS have never heard of the Jewish money changers that control the central banks, Wall Street, Washington DC and about everything else.

Let's see you do a story on that. Never going to happen because 7 zionists control the corporate media as well.

[AHelmes]

Please Check out this statement from UCLA:

http://www.uclahealth.org/body.cfm?id=403&action=detail&ref=1307

[doubtingthomas28]

They don't even answer any of the questions raised by the show and the so-called finding that "the right organ went to the right person" doesn't sound like something the feds said. Maybe one yakuza quickly finding the perfect donor is a coincidence but a total of four of them? What does that say?

[doubtingthomas28]

Read Adelstein's book. He makes a convincing case that UCLA accepting yakuza money is tantamount to money laundering.

[MalloryDavis]

Do any of you remember the guy who needed a transplant but the doctors here wouldn't operate because he smoked MEDICAL MARIJUANA? He died and yet they do this wonderful thing for these gangsters.
MONEY MONEY MONEY always wins...

There is something inherently wrong with humans and different countries. AND IT'S JUST REAL DISGUSTING!

[gmw7777]

I hope that current donors to UCLA Medical Center will stop their donations until the medical center acts ethically and fairly to all patients.

I'm a member of the "Baby Boomers" generation (61 years old). I have served my country and community for over 40 years as a registered nurse and I'm considered one of the finest nurses in the world. Yet I was just told by my doctor (Japanese-American) that my life is not worth receiving a flu vaccine! There are so many members of our generation that he told me we should just die and get out of the way. I have to get my vaccinations at supermarket pharmacies or the county healthcare system.

[legba131]

This is one reason why I don't have a donor card. Mickey Mantle got two livers. The billionaire head of Amway got a heart. Most people who do have donor cards expect that the lives saved by their organs will benefit ordinary people, not rich con men, sports stars and gangsters.

I've seen too many richies jumped to the head of the line, so no organs for you! And I ride a motorcycle, so it could be just a matter of time.

[hound1965]

Sorry, I find it unlikely that the Yakuza need liver transplants because of extensive tattoos covering their bodies so that they cannot sweat. It seems to me that a much more likely scenario is that tattoos are the source of hepatitis infections (Hep B, and C) thereby leaving their livers unable to function.

[kanyuek]

My brother-in-law got a "free" liver transplant in the best medical centre, University of Toronto Medical Centre only after 8 months wait. He is doing fine except his sugar was very high in the first 6 months when they put him on prednisone. Everything is free including over $2,000.00 of medication each month. Welcome to Universal Free Health care, Canadian Style ! There is nothing wrong with Universal Health Care ! It is for the rich, for the poor, for the powerful and for my brother-in-law who can not speak one work of English and is disabled. He "was" a cook in a Chinese restaurant in Toronto. But here in Canada we treat everyone equal under the law ! (But he is the best chef in town !)

[culturechang]

Equal under the law has been a tough challenge for Americans after 100 years of slavery and another 100 years of segregation. We never stop persecuting....we just change who we persecute. Today, its sex offenders.

[The-LoM]

In 2001, the FBI's representative in Tokyo arranged for Tadamasa Goto, the head of the group Goto-gumi, to receive a liver transplant in the United States, in return for information of Yamaguchi-gumi operations in the U.S. This was done without prior consultation of the NPA. The journalist who uncovered the deal received threats by Goto and was given police protection in the US and in Japan.

Source: Wikipedia

[legacyABQ2]

whats your point?

[The-LoM]

@legacyABQ2
alot of folks are bashing the fbi on this. apparently they dont know the deal

[skr81]

I read about this a while ago. The day I read that this happened with UCLA I removed my name from the organ donor list on my drivers license. If the United States Government, THE FBI is going to be giving selling our organs to criminals and denying Americans organs as a result, I will not participate in the organ donor program. UCLA should be very ashamed to have been wrangled or pressured by the FBI to do this. I think this is called being an accomplice to a crime.
Isn't it funny how George W. Bush and the likes of criminals like him get away with MURDER and if you miss a tax payment the lovely US Government threatens to throw you in jail.
Don't you just love "Democracy." Its the biggest racket the world has ever seen. After all, it spawned predatory capitalism, the biggest threat to world peace since the atom bomb.

[doubtingthomas28]

I don't think four yakuza corrupting the system means that we should stop donating our organs. I don' think that's the point of what 60 MINUTES reported or what Adelstein wrote. It's a call for more oversight and if anything, hopefully the program will make people think about how many people are desperate for an organ donation--and maybe encourage them to donate. I'm going to fill out a donor card myself. However, I may write next to it:"This organ can't be given to a mob boss or UCLA."

[doubtingthomas28]

I thought it was extremely well done. Read the book, TOKYO VICE, by Mr. Adelstein and was amazed. There's more to the story than what was on television. Yakuza running money through Las Vegas and more about the suspicous activities at UCLA. I hope someone really takes a hard look at how that money was paid to UCLA and where it came from. Blood money, literally.

[culturechang]

I knew if I read it, I would hear about sex....and I did. This is all just all about hang-ups of the sex trade.

What they dont tell you is that Japan has an extremely low crime rate compared to the US. They dont have serial rapists with 6 bodies under thier porch. That is a distinctly American thing.

Let's not export our culture over there. We have a big mess here.

[doubtingthomas28]

You should read Adelstein's book. Japan has serial rapists--one guy did over a hundred women and killed two of them. Japan has serial killers too.
Maybe because they don't have guns, they kill each other less.

[culturechang]

Doubting, I am sure they have them too, but we have one more every week. Have you ever browsed the internet to see how many there are over the years. There are hundreds of serial killers in jail or executed in this country.

[inketolstoy]

"They dont have serial rapists with 6 bodies under thier porch. That is a distinctly American thing."

No, occording to this article, the put bodies in the foundation, not under the porch. So much more civilized.

[bubbadubba]

<<<no one in my family is stupid enough to be an organ donor->>>

What's the matter, you are not willing to be killed in or out of the hospital ("we dont' know what happened, most likely an embolism") so some rich or famous person can get a transplant $$$$$$?
You are selfish not to sacrifice your life for the wealthy who need transplants and big corporations who own hospitals.
Good to see I am not the only person who finds it odd the rich and famous get a transplant real fast while working people die after waiting years or get bumped to the bottom.

[bubbadubba]

Hey Lara, we all saw the movie "Black Rain" with Michael Douglas too but we don't get paid to talk about it.

[babooph]

The transplant scams are typical of big time US corruption -the propaganda system is directed to brand other nation as corrupt -the US corruption is high level & starts with the education & propaganda - no one in my family is stupid enough to be an organ donor-

[TCMSOLS]

On a dark and stormy night when the moon cycle is at a quarter they come into the wind so you cannot smell the beast on the downwind. I would be more concerned with perishables being poisoned at the point of purchase. If they really wanted one liquidated, they would create a fiscal crisis (recession)locally or globally, to limit the Japanese police budget, manpower, overtime, which would allow the witness protection to be breached or lifted. I would not be worried as before a decision like that is made to contact the FBI with a barium meal a meeting takes place to gain permission from other Yakuza bosses. It is an honor to go to prison to save the life of your boss. Thus Mr Goto is not a rat as you would say in the USA. It was known to the Yakuza, they just did not want the public to know.

[beavah]

This story sickened me. It's disgusting that our FBI and the UCLA Medical Center would cater to these thugs over caring for America's own citizens. The one bright spot in this story is Jake Adelstein. At least someone has a conscience.

[fleabag75]

If anyone cares to actually look, the list of organ recipients is heavily stacked in favor of the wealthy. Like any commodity it is now big business. I removed my name from the donors list several years back after reading about people from all over the world coming here to grease the system and get a donation. It is becoming a very corrupt system.

[fleabag75]

Oh,, yeah,,, by the way,,, anyone think that (if he hasn't already) Bin Laden wont get a transplant? If the money is right it's a done deal. Keep an eye on the UCLA books.