Yakuza

Yakuza (also known as gokudo), are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them boryokudan (‘violence group’), while the yakuza call themselves ‘ninkyo dantai’ (‘chivalrous organizations’). The yakuza are notorious for their strict codes of conduct and very organized nature. They are very prevalent in the Japanese media and operate internationally with an estimated 80,900 members in 2009, the last year for which an estimate is available