Word: japanized
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...real motive remains murky, but Shiroo's brazen act provides some insight into the shadowy world of the yakuza and the difficulties Japan's once mighty mafia faces as it struggles to adapt to the country's changing economic circumstances. Over the past several years, the mobsters' traditional revenue sources have been drying up, largely due to vastly reduced government spending on graft-prone public-works projects. With easy money harder to get, gangsters may be more likely to resort to strong-arm tactics as they fight for scraps. "The Nagasaki shooting is a harbinger of what's to come...
...While it may seem odd that yakuza could be hit by budget cuts, they're not immune to government belt-tightening. The construction industry has always been the lifeblood of the yakuza-the gumi in Yamaguchi-gumi is also frequently used to denote construction companies. During Japan's bubble economy in the 1980s, crime lords feasted on the lucrative real estate sector. Yakuza made a mint by intimidating residents into selling their property at below-market prices. Many gangs plowed profits into real estate projects-especially golf courses, which became one of the most mobbed-up industries in Japan. When...
...result is an underworld version of the rich/poor divide that plagues the rest of the country. Top echelons of major organizations like Yamaguchi-gumi-which controls roughly half the estimated 80,000 gangsters in Japan-are thriving due to booming economies in Tokyo and Osaka. They can make billions from gambling, loan-sharking, drugs and the protection racket. Meanwhile, smaller gangs in moribund regional cities like Nagasaki-which are more dependent on government spending to fuel local growth-are being squeezed. Increasingly desperate, they are turning up the heat on local officials to extort more money from a shrinking pool...
...sponsors the Asian Football Confederation's Vision Asia project to develop grassroots leagues across China. Next summer, Chelsea will embark on its first-ever tour of China. Those preseason tours can be pure gold, giving sponsors the chance to exploit target markets. When Manchester United goes to Malaysia, Korea, Japan and China this summer, shirt sponsor AIG will be with the team every minute. That will go some way to repaying the $28 million a year the U.S. insurance behemoth agreed to pay to slap its logo on the club jersey for four years - more than 50% higher than...
...tennis blew up a decade ago," says John Mascatello, president of SFX Golf. After years of a few players dominating, the arrival of the Williams sisters spawned a Tiger Woods effect, heightening global competition. Today, Asia is the fastest-growing sector in TV, with women's golf in Japan garnering double the ratings of the men. That's one reason Honda is the sponsor of the LPGA's new Thailand tournament...