Why are Japanese gangs legal?

Japan is the only country in the world that recognizes the legitimacy of yakuza, issuing them legal permits as long as they operate under established laws. Every year, the Japanese Police Department releases a white paper detailing the number of violent groups in Japan and the exact number of members.

According to the Japanese police, as of the end of 2013, there were about 60,000 members of violent groups, while the Yakuza's membership amounted to about 11,600, which has been on a downward trend for several years under the impact of the economic downturn and the Japanese government's aggressive banning.

Women are usually marginalized in Japanese yakuza families. Even the wives and daughters of yakuza members are treated only slightly more favorably than their subordinates, and sometimes they become the tools of yakuza members' lustful pleasures. Women rarely hold power in gangs, though there are exceptions.

Extended information:

Japanese yakuza organizations are criminal gangs, and they are involved in a variety of activities that can be profiteering, like all criminal gangs. Illegal gambling and prostitution are the mainstays of the Japanese yakuza, and the smuggling of prohibited goods such as drugs, arms and pornographic publications is also a lucrative industry. The practice of collecting protection money is a common tactic used by the Japanese yakuza to make money.

Japan's well-developed sex industry is built by the yakuza. Kabukicho in Tokyo's Shinjuku is Asia's largest red-light district, with tens of thousands of bars, adult clubs and lover's hotels clustered together in a square kilometer of land, known as the "labyrinth city of desire."

Kabukicho is also synonymous with the yakuza in the eyes of the Japanese, with about a hundred yakuza offices in the town and more than 1,000 active yakuza members. The picture shows gang members gathering in front of their own club.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Japan's gangs