Tokyo Police Arrest Yakuza Leader For Stealing 25 Pokemon Trading Cards
Japan's once-mighty Yakuza, notorious figures in organised crime, has seemingly fallen on hard times. Tokyo police recently arrested a high-ranking member of the Takinogawa gang, part of the country's second-largest yakuza syndicate, the Sumiyoshi-kai. His crime? Stealing Pokémon cards. Yakuza, the Japanese equivalent of gangsters or mafiosos, was once a powerful force in organized crime. Their membership peaked in the 1960s at over 180,000. In 2013, US regulators assisted Japan in cracking down on the Yakuza by targeting their finances. The recent arrest shatters the media stereotype of the Y...