You felt safe anywhere in Japan most likely because you are of no value to them. I lived for 6 months in a burakumin area in Kyoto, and I never felt threatened

You felt safe anywhere in Japan most likely because you are of no value to them. I lived for 6 months in a burakumin area in Kyoto, and I never felt threatened either, but that would change quickly if I had any business in Japan (e.g. a bar, club, etc...). Many foreigners like to live in those areas because they are much cheaper and not always badly located in the cities (e.g. Namba/Sakuragawa in Osaka, which is right in the center of the city). As soon as you are a potential source of money, things change. There are many stories of foreigner having to pay a 'protection tax'. Yakuza are actually likely more powerful than e.g. mafia in the US, both in numbers and activity. The links with politician are also very strong. The grand-father of the former prime minister J. Koizumi was most likely a yakuza, and the LDP (party who maintained power over Japan most of post WWII) was founded with yakuza money. Someone else cited tokyo-vice, this interview by his writer is interesting and sheds some lights on the evolution of yakuza: http://boingboing.net/2010/03/18/jake-adelstein-expla.html http://boingboing.net/2010/03/18/jake-adelstein-expla.html