This is in part the result of an efficient police system. Cities are safe, with police kiosks at frequent intervals on street corners. However, the crime rate is rising.
Young people are now more involved in crime, and drug abuse has become more common.
The major crime problem is fraud and the activities of the kumi , organized Mafia-style syndicates whose members are known as yakuza . The authorities have been reluctant to challenge these groups outright, seeking to contain rather than eradicate their activities. Kumi are suspected of having connections with the extreme right in Japanese politics.