Even for the yakuza, every penny counts. On April 26, Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested Keita Saito, a kanbu, or executive, of the Takinogawa gang, a branch of the Sumiyoshi-kai, Japan's second-most powerful organized crime syndicate. The man is said to have stolen 252,000 yen (€1,500) worth of goods. The loot included 25 Pokémon cards – popular trading cards based on the Pokémon video games launched by Nintendo in 1996.

It's rare to see a full-fledged gang member, let alone an executive, arrested for petty theft. Traditionally, yakuza are more known for blackmailing, prostitution, drug trafficking, usury, exploitation of day laborers, and white-collar crime. Criminal organizations also control restaurants, bars, trucking companies, and even employment agencies.

The yakuza, who refrain from targeting ordinary citizens, remain popular, even idealized figures, as evidenced by the many films, series, and manga featuring them. The success of the Tokyo Vice series (HBO Max), which immerses viewers in Tokyo's red-light district, Kabukicho, in the 1990s, shows just how much the yakuza continue to fascinate.

Yet the world of the yakuza is in decline. In 1992 and 2011, Japan passed laws against the "Anti-Social Forces" – the official term for the criminal underworld – banning them from opening bank accounts, signing property contracts, and even driving on highways. Companies are no longer allowed to do business with them.

According to the National Police Agency, the crackdown has helped to reduce the number of members of organized criminal groups greatly. From 87,000 in 2006, it fell to 22,400 in 2022, a far cry from the historic peak of 184,000 in the early 1960s. And, like the rest of Japanese society, the yakuza are aging. In 2019, the percentage of those over 50 reached 51.2%, exceeding 50% for the first time.

The gangs' difficulties have driven them to diversify their activities. In 2020, 10 members of Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's most powerful gang, were arrested in Hokkaido (northern Japan) for illegally fishing sea cucumbers. The exportation of this tasty seafood is said to be as lucrative as selling drugs. The yakuza also specialize in retouching suggestive pictures – a skill they have acquired through editing photos of hostesses in the bars they control.

It is therefore hardly surprising to find them involved in the theft of Pokémon cards, whose value soared during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Daisuke Fujii, editor-in-chief of Toy Journal, a monthly magazine specializing in toys and games, "adults who used to play with Pokémon cards as children rediscovered this activity when they had to stay at home. They started buying back cards, either to play or to collect."

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