Yakuza

Members of organized crime syndicates in Japan

Yakuza (Japanese: ヤクザ; IPA: [jaꜜkɯ(d)za]; English:), also known as gokudō (極道; "the extreme path", IPA: [gokɯꜜdoː]), or simply the Japanese mafia, are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them bōryokudan (暴力団; "violent groups", IPA: [boːɾʲokɯꜜdaɴ]), while the yakuza call themselves ninkyō dantai (任侠団体; "chivalrous organizations", IPA: [ɲiŋʲkʲoː dantai]). The English equivalent for the term yakuza is gangster, meaning an individual involved in a Mafia-like criminal organization, but is generally used in English-speaking countries to refer to the criminal organization as a whole.

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