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• n  a Japanese gangster
• n  organized crime in Japan; an alliance of criminal organizations and illegal enterprises

• But where did my tough and tragic yakuza boss come from? He came, somehow, from the films of Takeshi Kitano, which I had not yet seen.
• Putting the heat on the sons of samurai banditsTo most Japanese, the yakuza are as instantly recognizable as soldiers in an enemy army.
• More than half of yakuza are now classified by police as "associates" rather than fully fledged members; in 1991, only 1 out of 3 yakuza were associates.

News & Articles

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• 5 percent of prosthetic maker's clients former yakuza
  TOKYO, June 7 (UPI) -- A Tokyo prosthetics maker said about 5 percent of his business comes from former members of yakuza -- the Japanese mafia -- seeking artificial pinkies.
  June 7, 2013 - UPI
• Tom Hardy to Star in Takashi Miike’s First English-Language Film
  'Dark Knight Rises' star Tom Hardy has signed on to play an American soldier who gets involved with the Japanese yakuza in director Takashi Miike's English-language debut.
  June 7, 2013 - Screen Rant
• Watch: Ex-Japanese Gangsters Turn to Prosthetics for Normal Life
  Former Yakuza members use prosthetics to hide their severed fingers and blend in with society.        
  June 6, 2013 - ABC News

Quotes

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• Takeshi Kitano in Asahi Shimbun
  It's my first yakuza film for a while, but I didn't want people to say I'd returned to my roots,Kitano said. "My technique has improved since making 'Sonatine,' and I think my ability to entertain audiences has evolved, too."
• Enson Inoue in MMAjunkie.com
  I had one Yakuza guy in my room,Inoue said. "I had a guy that sold fake notes, bank notes. And then I had a guy who had sexual harassment on a 22-year-old kid. So I had a whole range of people. I was laying in the room one night, and told...
• Anthony LaPaglia in Sydney Morning Herald
  CBS loves the idea,LaPaglia said yesterday from his home in Los Angeles. "It wasn't really that hard to convince them. They like the idea of featuring the Yakuza [Japanese mafia] in a storyline for Without A Trace. We're going to shoot...