The 1995 Kobe Earthquake

On the Friday, 11 march of 2011, Japan was struck by a massive Tsunami and a 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Tōhoku. The destruction caused by this mammoth natural disaster was indescribable, the cost of the damage done was estimated to about tens of billions of US dollars, coastal settlements were wrecked inhabitable and businesses as well as infrastructures are also put out of business. It was one of the largest crisis japan has seen on its own land in the century. Moments after the great disaster, appeared Japan’s underworld, the Yakuza. They were the first responders on the scene (faster than the NPA, National Police Agency), even aid agencies took days to arrive on scene, handing out water and food supplies to survivors. Over

In the great Kobe earthquake of 1995, the Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest Yakuza gang, played no hesitation in providing aid to the people who were affected by the goliath of a disaster. Motor scooters, boats and even helicopters were dispatched by the Yamaguchi-gumi to distribute supplies and necessities. Sources showed that during the aftermath of the 1995 Kobe earthquake, the group was distributing up to 8,000 meals to the survivors daily. Compared to the relief works of the Yakuza, rescue and relief groups dispatched by government agencies were sloppy, slow and disorganized, they took 3 days to arrive on scene, while the men of Yamaguchi-gumi arrived on the night of the earthquake. Even the local newspaper critiqued the sloppiness and inefficiency of the government in handling this

A significant portion of the Yakuza’s revenue comes from the construction industry, by winning the hearts of the people and the government, the crime syndicate will be able to gain construction contracts for the rebuilding of regions devastated by natural disasters. (a multitrillion yen project over a span of three years.) Meaning that a large portion of this will be channelled to the crime syndicate. In 2011, reports have shown that the Kudo-kai, a Yakuza gang, was supplying TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) with unskilled labour in the recovery of the Fukushima nuclear plant, which comprises of the homeless, debtors (of the Yakuza), the unemployed as well as ex-members of the Yakuza. With the destruction of the power plant, structural and frictional unemployment inevitably rises, people who once worked in the power plant are not equipped with relevant skills to work in other sectors. The usage of unskilled labour by the Yakuza can mitigate this fall in employment rate, providing an alternative job for those who lost theirs in the aftermath of the earthquake. Thus the taking over of construction contracts by the Yakuza should not be seen as detriment but a benefit to Japan both socially and