Photo/Illutration Officers from the Kanda Police Station in Tokyo call on store operators to stop paying protection money to yakuza and cut ties with gangs operating around JR Kanda Station in the capital’s Chiyoda Ward on May 26. (Keita Yamaguchi)

The managers of three restaurant and sex establishments in Tokyo found themselves on the wrong side of the law for paying protection money to a local yakuza gang that operates in the busy Kanda commercial district of the capital.

Police referred the case to prosecutors by July, according to sources, on grounds the “mikajimeryo” protection money payments constituted a breach of an ordinance aimed at eliminating syndicates.

By paying the money, the trio, in effect, encouraged the gangs to prosper, the Metropolitan Police Department said.

Aside from the three outlets, several other stores in Kanda are known to have offered mikajimeryo as well.

Officers at the Kanda Police Station estimated the three managers paid a combined total of 720,000 yen ($5,000) in mikajimeryo to a senior member of a gang affiliated with the Sumiyoshi-kai syndicate between October 2019 and January of this year.

The gang member has already been indicted for extorting protection money from the operators in breach of the ordinance.

The MPD in March arrested the senior member and three others linked to the same group in a separate case of extortion over a five-year period from an “izakaya” pub operator.

Investigations revealed the gang coerced more than 10 outlets located around JR Kanda Station that included an izakaya and a hostess bar to pay mikajimeryo over the course of 10 years or so.

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The manager of a hostess bar in Tokyo admitted during an Asahi Shimbun interview he reluctantly ending up paying mikajimeryo to the gang around 10 years ago after being told it was not in his interests to refuse. He eventually ended up in police custody.

The man recalled that he was working as a member of the bar staff and about to take over the role of manager of the establishment from his predecessor when he was summoned by the gangster to “talk about our future.”

The bar manager said the restaurant in those days paid 150,000 yen in mikajimeryo monthly payments to the yakuza member’s organization, and he, inspired by the then owner, headed to the meeting with the aim of severing ties with the gang.

The gangster was a stereotype of the genre with close-cropped hair, dark shades shielding his eyes and a chain adorning his neck. When the man told the yakuza seated in front of him that he could no longer “extend funds,” the gangster replied, “You will have trouble.”

His words came across as gentle but were intimidating, nevertheless. The bar manager instinctively knew that not accepting the gang’s terms would lead to “serious thorns.”

The yakuza said the monthly mikajimeryo could be lowered to 30,000 yen, and the man agreed to the compromise as it amounted to “a paltry sum.” He was also convinced by the gangster’s argument that “everyone around here” paid protection money.

Since then, the yakuza contacted him by cellphone toward the end of each month to arrange where to hand over the money in a brown envelope. The meetings took place on deserted streets and elsewhere to avoid prying eyes.

The monthly payments were later raised to 60,000 yen because of the “larger size” of the bar.

The manager knew that paying protection money was wrong as it brought no discernable benefit to his establishment.

But he feared that his staff and customers would be assaulted and the bar’s reputation undermined.

“My predecessor and all the others paid protection money,” the manager said. “I simply viewed the payments as a necessary expenditure like utility expenses in order to dodge risks.”

He did not bother to consult with the police, saying, “It is impossible for the police to protect us day and night.”

Looking back on those days, he said, “The idea of sharing the problem with the police never crossed my mind.”

In the end, he felt a certain sense of relief when he was caught by the police.

“It was rather fortunate for me to find a good reason to refuse the gang’s requests for money with no questions asked,” he said.

(This article was written by Keita Yamaguchi and Masayuki Takashima.)

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