The GOP would have you believe that President Barack Obama is soft on terrorism, national security, blah blah blah. Clearly they’re blind with bias. Like the Chi-town gangsta he is, Barry O has murked out a bunch of bad guys. Bin Laden, Gaddafi (however you spell his damn name), miscellaneous al-Qaeda bigwigs and other super villains have met their demise under Obama’s watch. Hell, even Whitey Bulger finally got caught last year. Now The Prez is setting his scope on a new, unexpected target.
If you’ve read CRIMINAL EMPIRES 1: YAKUZA, my in-depth examination of the infamous Japanese mafia, then you already know how deep-rooted, powerful and dangerous that organization is. Well, Obama is cracking down on the biggest and baddest of all the yakuza families. According to Bloomberg News:
The largest of Japan’s yakuza organizations, the Yamaguchi- gumi, and two of its leaders will have their U.S. assets frozen and transactions barred under sanctions announced yesterday by the Treasury Department. The group earns “billions of dollars” a year from crimes in Japan and abroad, including drug and human trafficking, prostitution, money laundering and fraud, the department said in a statement. The U.S. move represents “a slap in the face of the Japanese government” for failing to rein in organized crime, said Jake Adelstein, a Tokyo-based writer who covers the yakuza.
The Yamaguchi-gumi’s leaders targeted by the sanctions are its “godfather,” Kenichi Shinoda, 70, and his deputy Kiyoshi Takayama, 64, the Treasury Department said in its statement. The U.S. also imposed sanctions against seven “key members and associates” of a syndicate called the Brothers’ Circle, based in Central Asia, Russia and the Middle East. The Yamaguchi-gumi, which operates out of a two-building complex in a residential neighborhood, was estimated to represent 44 percent of Japan’s yakuza with 34,900 members as of December 2010, according to the National Police Agency.
The group has “significant” overseas assets, Adelstein said. In 2005, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement seized almost $600,000 from accounts belonging to Susumu Kajiyama, a yakuza member who was sentenced in Japan for loan-sharking, the Associated Press reported in 2009. In 2003, Swiss authorities said they seized 61 million Swiss francs ($68 million) from accounts in Kajiyama’s name.
“While this is more of a sting than a blow, it certainly won’t make them happy,” Adelstein said of the U.S. action.
Obama ain’t playin’ with these fools out here, man… his heart don’t pump Kool Aid (racism unintended). The yakuza is known to retaliate against politicians, like when they assassinated the Mayor of Nagasaki in 2007. Still, all of America’s foes are dangerous and The Prez has a formidable crew holdin’ him down. The U.S. is the police of the world, bitch.
Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when Obama comes for you?
Previously posted:
