Police fear the want ads are a sign of the yakuza’s desperation and warn people not to get involved.
“It’s unprecedented that the yakuza have had to turn to newspaper classifieds to find recruits,” an Osaka Prefectural Police spokesman says. “We hope this isn’t just a new way to increase the number of gang members.”
Wanted ads first appeared in at least two daily sports newspapers in mid-October and continued until earlier this week. The ad sought willing bodyguards, who would receive high pay, lodgings and three meals a day. The ad also gave the name of the station nearest the place of work and a phone number. A company name bearing a close resemblance to the Yamaguchi-gumi was also listed. The phone number on the ad is registered as being a number that belongs to a Yamaguchi-gumi office.
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Experts on the underworld are not surprised to see the yakuza resorting to new methods to find fresh blood.
“With the economy being as bad as it has been for so long, the yakuza are having trouble making money and finding new recruits. There’s no doubt the yakuza are trying to entice younger members to join them with the promise of making them company employees rather than gangsters,” non-fiction writer Atsushi Mizoguchi says. “This is proof that younger generations no longer see any charm in the yakuza world.”
Y ahora perdonen, pero me voy a dormirla.