Presenter(s): Caitlyn Yost—International Studies
Co-Presenter(s): Calvin Parker-Durost
Faculty Mentor(s): Matthias Vogel
Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation
For generations, Japan has been trying to control and contain their mafia organizations known as the yakuza . The yakuza groups have, since the Tokugawa era in the early 1800s, been an issue and to this day they continue to defy the Japanese government which has never been able to fully rid the country of these organizations . In our research, we examine why the Japanese government has such a hard time trying to deal with yakuza and why the yakuza have a big impact on Japanese society . For our research, we will be using sources such as historical documents, police reports, articles/newspapers, and first-hand accounts on dealing with yakuza . Taking a look at such sources has led us to finding out that the Japanese government is starting to crack down on yakuza more since 2011 with the support of the United States government though the yakuza still continue to hold roots in Japanese businesses and citizens still go to yakuza to deal with issues rather than deal with the Japanese legal process . We hope to bring awareness to this topic and teach people how the yakuza organizations have changed and adapted over the years, how they are currently being handled in Japan, and how they could be dealt with in the future .