When gangsters are necessary

Nearly one in four young Japanese men believes that hiring gangsters to settle disputes is a necessary evil, according to a survey conducted by the Prime Minister's office, Reuter reports from Tokyo About 23 per cent of men and 17 per cent of women in their twenties said that relying on gangsters to extort money or force out-of-court settlements with the use or threat of violence was 'bad but cannot be helped' or else 'not bad', the survey showed.

Asked why some Japanese went to organised crime to settle their grievances, about four in 10 said that the courts took too long or that going to the police was too troublesome.