Once a symbol of a burgeoning postwar counterculture, the ²ú¨²õ¨³ú´Ç°ì³Ü are fading. Gone are the days when gangs of bikers would zoom through neighborhoods with daredevil temerity.
According to the latest National Police Agency report, the number of recognized ²ú¨²õ¨³ú´Ç°ì³Ü members nationwide, which peaked in 1982 at 42,500, has fallen steadily over the last three decades and hit a record low 7,297 last year.
¡°°Õ³ó±ð ²ú¨²õ¨³ú´Ç°ì³Ü are history,¡± Kazuhiro Hazuki, 39, a former leader of Narashino Specter, once a highly influential biker clan based in Chiba Prefecture, says in a documentary that debuted April 12 in Tokyo.
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