Having caught the occasional glimpse of the younger Yakuza in their leisure hours back in the day, I was fascinated with the effect that the Exclusion Laws of 2010-2011 have had in almost eliminating the power of organized crime in Japan, although I do wonder how much of that was related to the rise of the Clown World-friendly Princes of the Yen that took place over the same period. In any event, the vacuum left behind was always going to be filled, which, of course, is exactly what the new book, TOKYO TOKURYU is about. However, it occurred to me that since few would necessarily recognize what tokuryū is, or why it even exists in the first place, a basic primer might be useful.
Tokuryū (匿流) is a term coined by Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) in 2024 to describe a new and growing form of loosely organized criminal groups that have emerged as an alternative to traditional yakuza organizations. The term combines the Japanese words tokumei (匿名, anonymous) and ryūdo (流動, fluid), reflecting the groups’ absence of hierarchy and their flexible, anonymous operations.
According to the National Police Agency (NPA), more than 10,000 people arrested between September 2021 and February 2023 are classified as tokuryū. Yasuhiro Tsuyuki, chief of the NPA, said shortly after the 2023 watch theft sentencing: “Such robberies committed in busy shopping streets in the city centre in daylight have reached unprecedented levels. The police nationwide need to cooperate on investigating quickly and effectively.”
In Fukuoka prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu, police last month established a 100-member division to combat the growing tokuryū threat. The prefecture is a former yakuza stronghold.
Violent crime is rare in Japan, and a string of dozens of burglaries across the country from 2021 to 2023, one resulting in the death of a 90-year-old woman, shocked the country.
The burglaries are alleged to have been orchestrated by a Japanese group operating out of the Philippines. Nicknamed “Luffy” after a famous manga character used by one of its leaders on messaging apps, the gang also ran telephone scams and extorted Japanese businesspeople working in Manila. More than 30 of its members have been extradited to Japan, with a handful still detained in the Philippines. Among the members are former yakuza. Other tokuryū groups have formed alliances with traditional gangsters, and are suspected of sharing profits with them.
After continuous crackdowns on yakuza syndicates, their membership fell to 20,400 last year, from a peak of more than 180,000 in the 1960s, as the older generations found it harder to tempt young men with promises of easy money.
Stricter laws, including those targeting businesses with links to gangs that had once operated with near-impunity, have made a life of crime increasingly unappealing: yakuza members are forbidden from opening bank accounts, obtaining a credit card, taking out insurance policies or even signing a contract for a mobile phone.
If you’re interested in the post-Yakuza Japanese underworld, or if you like Higashino novels, give TOKYO TOKURYU a try. There will be more Inspector Toda novels coming out this year.