

Underreported Yakuza murders in Japan, FBI liver-transplant-for-info swap [2009] - nwatson
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120237244

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nwatson
You can hear NPR audio from the link. Transcript is at
[http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?story...](http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=120237244).

This was an interesting story I heard a few months back, detailing how:

* Yakuza/organized crime figures carry business cards and operate in the open

* Companies and private citizens contract the Yakuza to settle disputes

* Most construction companies have some Yakuza tie-in

* Most yakuza murder victims do end up as cliches ... in building foundations ... and aren't reported as murder victims

* a Yakuza boss promised to inform on cronies for the FBI in return for entry/exit to/from US for liver transplants at UCLA (UCLA got a nice sum for expedited liver matching and transplant services too) ... and he brought along three friends for identical procedures.

* The Yakuza boss did not keep his end of the deal. (I guess the FBI just trusted he'd do his part.)

* The American crime reporter/author giving the interview blew the story, disgraced the Yakuza figure, and suffered some consequences.

Fascinating story overall. The Japanese official homicide rate doesn't reflect
the truth.

