Yakuza are very much part of everyday life. They dominate the bar and entertainment industries. Around 1990, at the height of Japan's bubble economy, they got heavily involved in property development. Some experts believe Japanese bankers resist calling in bad loans because they were made to yakuza. A vast amount of bad bank debts is one of the country's biggest problems, but bankers have been intimidated and even killed for calling in mob-related obligations.
Japan also has a tradition of corporate racketeers, the sokaiya, who hold companies to ransom.
The influence is on the wane, though. Japan's illegal economy peaked at 1990, according to Hamagin's research, when it hit 7.6 percent of gross domestic product. Tougher regulation has helped, Kadokura said. Fewer people are cheating on taxes now that the government has eased their tax burden, too. An AOL Time Warner Company.