Mainstream media last month broke a long-standing silence they¡¯ve had concerning the activities of Japan¡¯s organized crime groups, which are referred to in official circles as ¡±boryokudan¡± (violent groups) or, colloquially, as ¡°yakuza.¡±
The Mainichi Shimbun (Sept. 15) reported that Kobe¡¯s Municipal Board of Education had issued a warning to discourage local children from trick-or-treating at a Halloween event organized annually since 2013 by the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan¡¯s largest organized criminal syndicate.
The board of education¡¯s latest move would appear to put the brakes on yet another, er, hallowed gang tradition.
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