How Powerful Is The Yakuza?
暴力团有多强大?
In 2015,members of japan’s largest organized crime group, the yamaguchi gumi broke awayto form a new gang, Kobe yamaguchi gumi.
2015年,日本最大的有组织犯罪集团(山口组)成员,从原组织脱离出来组成了一个新的帮派“神户山口组”。
Similarpast splits in the yakuza have resulted in years of warfare, assassinations anda terrorized Japanese public. At the same time, organized crime is seen as anecessary evil by many Japanese people, and their gangs are often revered inpopular culture.
曾经,类似组织发生分裂事件导致过很多冲突、暗杀以及公众恐慌情绪。与此同时,有组织犯罪被日本人视为一种不可避免的犯罪,而他们的帮派在大众文化中往往受到尊敬。
So, justhow powerful is the yakuza?
那么,暴力团到底有多强大呢?
Well,the yakuza is not one group, it is an umbrella term for all of Japan’sorganized crime groups.
其实,暴力团不是一个单独的组织,它是所有日本有组织犯罪集团的总称。
Withmore than 50 thousand members spread over 21 independently-run cartels, theyakuza is one of the most powerful mafia-like groups in the world.
有超过50000名成员,分布在21个独立运营的帮派。暴力团是世界上最强大的黑手党团体之一。
Theirlargest and most well-known syndicate is yamaguchi gumi. In 2014, this factiontook in $6.6 billion dollars.
其中最大和最知名的财团是山口组。2014年,该集团收入为66亿美元。
Theyakuza’s presence in Japan dates back to the 17thcentury. However,they were largely unorganized and powerless until the wake of world war two.
暴力团在日本的历史可以追溯到17世纪。然而,当时他们基本是无组织无能力的,直到第二次世界大战来临。
At thetime, the US had just bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leaving Japan and itseconomy in ruins.
当时,美国刚刚轰炸了广岛和长崎,日本经济陷入瘫痪。
As the USinvested in rebuilding Japan, The yakuza took over the black markets.
美国打算投资重建日本,暴力团掌控了黑市。
Whilethe government employed strict food rations, the yakuza use the black marketsto gain both profit and control over neighbourhoods and towns.
虽然政府严格控制食物配给,暴力团利用黑市赚取利润以及控制了社区和城镇。
Someliken this is the way, the US mafia gain power during prohibition.
用同样的方式,美国黑手党曾在“禁酒令时期”积累实力。
Today,yakuza cartels get most of their money through fraud, bribery, drug traffickingand blackmail.
如今,黑帮团伙通过欺诈、贿赂、贩毒和勒索获取大部分资金。
Theyakuza’s transnational network of spies extends as far as Europe and theAmericas, and the group is known to outsource assassinations and other criminalacts.
暴力团的跨国间谍网络一直延伸到欧洲和美洲,以及一个外包暗杀和其他犯罪行为的团队。
Yakuzagangsters manipulate politicians and powerful businesspeople by leveragingincriminating insider information.
暴力团成员利用内幕信息来操纵政客和富商。
In theinfamous 2008 hoax, a yamaguchi gumi front company got away with a $350 milliondollar loan from Lehman brothers, which was one of America’s most powerfulinvestment banks at the time.
在臭名昭著的2008年骗局中,山口组的空壳公司从雷曼兄弟那里获得了3.5亿美元贷款,这是当时美国最强大的投资银行之一。
Similarschemes, combined with constant manipulation of the Japanese stock market, hasmade the yamaguchi gumi the country’s second-largest private equity group inthe country.
结合类似方案持续操纵日本股票市场,使山口组成为日本第二大私营股权集团。
Evenmembers of Japan’s ruling party have allegedly accepted bribes and otherwiseassociated themselves with Yakuza syndicates.
即使是日本的执政党成员涉嫌受贿,也与黑帮集团有关。
Butdespite their pervasive criminal activity, yakuza gangsters are often seen asdo-gooders, and their cartels are glorified in Japanese media.
尽管他们普遍的犯罪活动,暴力团成员常常被认为是“行善者”,他们的帮派获得日本媒体称赞。
Yakuzamembers work out of office buildings and carry business cards, and cartels areoften featured in comic books and fan magazines.
暴力团成员在写字楼工作并携带名片,帮派形象经常出现在漫画书和杂志里。
The Japanesemafia is even known to carry out charitable acts.
日本黑手党甚至开展慈善行为。
Yakuzagangs were among the first to deliver aid to victims of the 1995 earthquake andthe 2011 tsunami in japan.
在1995年阪神大地震和2011年日本海啸发生时,暴力团都是第一时间向受灾群众伸出援助之手。
What’smore, yakuza membership itself is not illegal.
更重要的是,暴力团成员本身并不是非法的。
And althoughJapanese police have cracked down on gang activity in the 21stcentury, law enforcement is generally incapable of controlling the yakuza.
虽然日本警方在21世纪打击帮派活动,但执法并不能控制暴力团。
This isbecause white collar crime is hard to prove, and police lack the resources totrack down most organized crime.
这是因为“白领犯罪”取证很难,对于大多数有组织犯罪,警方都无力追查。
So justhow powerful is the Japanese mafia?
那么日本黑手党有多强大呢?
Well,they’re deeply intertwined in Japanese society, and their largest faction isworth roughly twice that of Mexico’s biggest drug cartel.
他们与日本社会盘根错节交织在一起,他们最大帮派的收入大约是墨西哥最大贩毒集团的两倍。
Theirinternational crime syndicates are among the most centralized in the world,making it easy to secure mass amounts of money from the Japanese economy.
他们的国际犯罪集团是世界上最集中的,使它更容易从日本经济中获得大量资金。
Sowhether it be as heroes or villains, the yakuza is a powerful and influentialpart of Japan.
所以,无论是英雄还是恶棍,暴力团都是日本强大而有影响力的一部分。
Whilethe yakuza is one of the biggest mafia-groups in the world, it isn’t the onlyone.
虽然暴力团是世界上最大的黑手党之一,但它并不是唯一的。
Transnationalcrime accounts for around a trillion dollars worth of revenue worldwide, sowhat are some of the other groups in organized crime?
跨国犯罪占全世界收入约一万亿美元,那世界上还有哪些其他的犯罪组织呢?
In Russiaa relatively new mafia from the 1980’s known as the Solntsevskaya Brotherhoodis considered the most dangerous and largest group of the numerous Russianmafias, with membership in the thousands.
在俄罗斯,Solntsevskaya兄弟会是一个比较新的黑手党,成立于1980年代。该组织被认为是俄罗斯众多黑手党中最凶残和规模最大的团体,会员数以千计。
Due topost soviet rise of criminal Russian oligarchs, the brotherhood is especiallyinfluential because of their ties with top government officials.
由于后苏联时代,俄罗斯寡头犯罪崛起,兄弟会特别有影响力,因为他们与政府高层官员有密切联系。
英文原版视频链接:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuiEIVJ-Pq8
中文字幕视频链接:http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjQ4ODM4OTY4OA==.html
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