Ian Murray wrote:
>
> >
> < http://www.feer.com >
> The Yakuza Recession
>
> [clip] The economist, an American, and the investment
> banker, also American, were discussing a matter long the subject of
> innuendo: Japanese organized crime-the yakuza-and its role in the
> bad-debt crisis that is primarily responsible for keeping Japan in
> recession.
Sometime in the last year I read an article, which I will try to run down, by Bertell Ollman which, if I remember correctly, argued that the Yakuza was an essential element in the political structure of Japan.
Carrol