From tattoos to Telegram: How tokuryu gangs are replacing Japan’s yakuza

Japan’s centuries-old yakuza, once feared for their tattoos, strict codes and shadowy control over the underworld, are facing an unprecedented challenge. A new breed of tech-savvy criminals, known as the "tokuryu," is rewriting the rules of organised crime. Recruiting naive civilians through social media and online ads, these agile gangs thrive on scams and fleeting alliances, leaving the traditional mafia struggling to lure the younger generation and protect their dwindling influence.

Tokuryu: the new face of Japanese organised crime

A fast-growing breed of criminal networks known as tokuryu — short for “anonymous and fluid” — is challenging the dominance of Japan’s long-established yakuza syndicates. Unlike the yakuza’s rigid hierarchy, tattoos and rituals, tokuryu groups operate through encrypted messaging apps and social media, recruiting temporary foot soldiers for specific crimes.

These loosely structured gangs have built what police describe as a criminal gig economy, allowing anonymous leaders to remain insulated from arrest while disposable recruits take the risks.

From biker gangs to online crime

Takanori Kuzuoka, now serving a nine-year prison sentence, offered AFP rare insight into the tokuryu mindset through handwritten letters sent from his jail cell. The 28-year-old said he deliberately avoided joining the yakuza, seeing little benefit in their strict rules and declining influence.

After graduating from teenage biker gangs, Kuzuoka became a recruiter and organiser for tokuryu operations, posting fake job advertisements on social media promising high pay. Many recruits — including sex workers, gambling addicts and entertainers — signed up for illegal “yami baito” jobs without understanding the risks.

Scams targeting the elderly

Unlike the yakuza, who historically claimed to avoid exploiting the weak, tokuryu groups openly target Japan’s ageing population. Their primary income comes from organised fraud, including the notorious “It’s me” phone scams, where criminals impersonate relatives in distress to extract money.

Authorities say organised scams and fraud linked to tokuryu groups cost Japan more than 72 billion yen between January and July alone, already surpassing losses recorded during the whole of the previous year.

Police struggle to reach the leadership

Tokyo police have identified tokuryu networks as their biggest public order priority, launching a dedicated 100-officer taskforce to dismantle them. However, retired detective Yuichi Sakurai said the groups’ “amoeba-like” structure makes them difficult to disrupt.

Low-level operatives frequently split, merge and disappear, meaning arrests rarely lead investigators to the organisers controlling operations from the shadows.

Yakuza losing their appeal

Senior figures within Japan’s traditional mafia privately admit they are struggling to attract young recruits. A yakuza leader told AFP that millennials and Generation Z are unwilling to accept years of obedience at the bottom of the hierarchy, preferring the flexibility and fast money promised by tokuryu groups.

Strict anti-gang laws introduced since the 1990s have further weakened the yakuza, preventing members from opening bank accounts, renting property or signing phone contracts. Membership has fallen to fewer than 19,000 — an almost 80 per cent drop from its peak in 1992.

The rise of hangure and blurred alliances

The decline of the yakuza has been accompanied by the growth of hangure — loosely connected gangs of young delinquents who blend easily into mainstream society. Police believe many tokuryu leaders emerged from these networks.

Despite their public disdain for scams, authorities say some yakuza groups now take a share of tokuryu profits or provide protection in exchange for payment, highlighting the financial pressures facing the old mafia.

Violence behind the digital façade

While tokuryu leaders rely heavily on fraud, violence remains part of their operations. Kuzuoka admitted leading a robbery in which a mother and her children were tied up and threatened at scissors-point, underlining the brutality behind the online recruitment and anonymous command structures.

An underworld in transition

For all their internal conflicts, yakuza leaders insist they will not disappear, arguing they still play a role in controlling crime. But as digital-native gangs expand and traditional codes erode, Japan’s criminal landscape is undergoing its most profound shift in decades.

As Kuzuoka reflected from prison, the new underworld stripped away emotion and accountability — a transformation he now describes as “cruel and inhumane”, with consequences he says he will carry for life.