Yakuza gang war in Tokyo on the horizon?
Well, it looks like a gang war for control of certain areas of Tokyo may be on the brink, after 3 shooting incidents took place in the city throughout Monday and into Tuesday morning. At around 10am on Monday, a Mr Ryoichi Sugiura, a high ranking gang member affiliated to the Sumiyoshi-kai was shot and killed in Minato-ku. This then sparked off a series of retaliatory attacks. Barely an hour later, shots were fired into an office affiliated with the notorious Yamaguchi-gumi. This was a couple of kilometres from the first murder. Then, just before dawn on Tuesday morning, 4 shots were fired into the apartment of a person believed to have strong links to the Yamaguchi-gumi in Toshima-ku. In addition to all of that, bullet marks were found in the door of a building previously occupied by a Yamaguchi-gumi affiliate in Shibuya-ku on Tuesday morning. Most of those details are taken from the Mainichi news article. 2 gangsters have been arrested for the latter attack, and both are affiliated with the Sumiyoshi-kai. Interestingly, the have both been charged under the Firearms and Swords Control Law… does anyone know of another country where the firearm and sword law is fixed?!
The police in Tokyo have since tightened security around both Sumiyoshi-kai and Yamaguchi-gumi locations throughout the Kanto region, amid fears that these shootings could turn into an all-out war over territory between the 2 groups. I’m sure most of your readers have probably never heard of those 2 organisations, so maybe a little introduction is needed. Firstly, they are both yakuza organisations. The Yakuza in Japan are members of organised crime syndicates (think mafia or The Godfather), and they are very visible in society. Even in Okinawa, they are easy to stop (if you go 1 block west of highway 58 in Naha then you’re in the red light district and definite yakuza territory). Black suits, waistcoats, sunglasses and mobile phones or earpieces at the ready, these guys are always ready for business. Interestingly enough, the work “yakuza” comes from a Japanese card game, and literally means, “good for nothing”. Contrary to most organised crime syndicates, the yakuza don’t extort money from small local-run businesses on the whole; rather they prey on large corporations (an act known as soukaiya). They do this by becoming small stock holders and then blackmailing the companies about scandals they could uncover. It is still known in some practices for payoffs to the yakuza to be announced in the company’s financial reports.
Another thing that can signify a yakuza member is a huge number of tattoos. Or, more accurately, a single tattoo covering almost their entire body. These tattoos are usually very intricate, and from what I can imagine, both very time-consuming and very painful to make. But they are an integral part of the yakuza image. Another sign of a current or former Yakuza member is the half-missing little finger. The first time a yakuza member makes a mistake, the tip of their little finger is cut off. The origin of this practice is very interesting, and I quote from Wikipedia: “Its origin stems from the traditional way of holding a Japanese sword. The bottom three fingers of each hand are used to grip the sword tightly, with the thumb and index fingers slightly loose. The removal of digits starting with the little finger moving up the hand to the index finger progressively weakens a person’s sword grip. The idea is that a person with a weak sword grip then has to rely more on the group for protection - reducing individual action”.
Vitamins to help divers
While we’re on the subject of news, I read in the news today that scientists have said that taking vitamins C and E are beneficial to the health of divers. I’ve glanced at the abstract of the article, entitled rather impressively, “The effects of acute oral antioxidants on diving-induced alterations in human cardiovascular function” from The Journal of Physiology, but it only succeeded in making my head hurt! The BBC news article linked below does manage to explain the bulk of the article and what it means:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6314901.stm
Basically, it is saying that doses of those vitamins prior to diving will help to prevent something called endothelial dysfunction, a state caused by gas bubbles getting into the circulatory system. Although dive medicine organisations are so far saying that this would have a very limited effect on diving (and DAN have made no comments yet), it could be another thing to consider. I already take multivitamins each day so am hopefully getting my dose of vitamin C and E, but it goes to show that a balanced diet with plenty of vitamins and minerals will keep you healthy when above or below the waves.
I’ll keep an eye on this story and if there’s anything more about it, I will post and let you know about it. Until then, take care and dive safely.
Japanese Health Minister - hold the phone, it’s happened again!!!
Well, things in Japan are surprisingly still pretty heated following Health Minister, and today news has come out that he saying that it is natural for couples to want 2 children in Japan. Although Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rebuked his Health Minister for making the “birth-giving machines” comment mentioned in last week’s article, he resisted calls to fire Hakuo Yanagisawa or ask for his resignation, stating that he knew Yanagisawa’s future actions would make him regain the trust of the Japanese people. Even people within his leading LDP party were calling for his resignation, but he refused. So obviously, the thing for him to do would be to lie low for a while, and make sure he doesn’t say anything that could be misinterpreted, right? Wrong!!!
In a recent press conference, Yanigasawa apologised once again for his 
previous comments, but then went back to talking about the declining birth-rate in Japan. And then the soundbyte people had been waiting for came. “”We have to come up with policies that fall in line with a healthy desire among (young) couples to have at least two children…”. This comment raises another couple of issues. Firstly, does happiness depend on the number of children someone has? I am young and healthy but don’t particularly want children at the moment - does that mean I’m not happy? And secondly does this mean he doesn’t want older couples, couples with sickness or disabilities etc having children? He may not be stating these things but in light of recent events he is really holding himself up for ransom.
Expect the calls for his resignation to be ringing through the Diet (Japanese parliament) over the next week or so. Stay tuned for more comments from Japan’s answer to the Duke of Edinburgh!!!
Interview with illusionist Tenko Hikita (aka Princess Tenko)
I was reading through the Japan Times website when I came across this excellent and informative interview with a woman called Tenko Hikita, or Princess Tenko as she’s known to her audiences. Her age and place of birth are unknown because of contracutal 
conditions, and it seems that contracts rule her life. They state that she should always look 24 years old, dictate her hair length to the nearest millimetre, that she can only marry a U.S. citizen and many more. She has performed in a number of countries, and has even performed in North Korea and has spoken to Kim Jong Il (who apparently owns all 8 Princess Tenko dolls). Even if you’ve not heard of this girl, the interview is a great informative read and really makes you feel for those in the spotlight whose actions and appearance are completely dictated by others. The photo on the right is courtesy of Yoshiaki Miura Photos.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20070204×1.html
Take the time to read the interview and let me know what you think.
Birthday events and a colour-changing cuttlefish
Yes - it’s official. I am one year older and supposedly wiser (although the latter is certainly up for debate). On Saturday I became 26 years old and am feeling every year of it! Especially when I teach my students (15-19 years old) I feel like an ojiisan (meaning old man in Japanese). They are all so full of life… well except when the odd one or 2 fall asleep in my class, but I soon wake them up.
To celebrate my birthday I had intended to go out on a dive boat to the Keramas on Saturday, but strong winds and rough seas on Friday turned me & Brian against the idea. So instead we went to the Kanna Thalasso Okinawa bath house and spa with a couple of our friends. The spa is up near Ginoza and Nago, but is well worth scooting up the Expressway for. From massaging water jets, to lemongrass herbal baths and saunas, and even a swimming pool and water slide for the kids (and the kid in you). There are also a couple of outdoor baths which were great to get into, as the sun was out and you could look over the beach and to the flat ocean on the east side of Okinawa. We spent a good few hours there and came out feeling totally relaxed. Headed back down to Chatan for some lunch at Obbligato before coming home and relaxing for the rest of the day. I was pretty worn out in the evening after a couple of very late nights on Thursday and Friday. On Friday night I elected to move around the furniture around in my apartment, and it ended up taking much much longer than I’d anticipated. This was mainly to do with the fact that I decided to do a big clear-out of old stuff too - was very liberating to do that:)