Yakuza and the Constitution

Venue: Mita Hall, Temple University, Japan Campus
September 9, 2016: 18:00
Official website: www.893-kenpou.com
Tariff:  Free. Registration is required.
Advance tickets: Contact ICAS (icas@tuj.temple.edu) to register.
Talk event: Koji Hijikata (Director & Reporter at Tokai Television Broadcasting)

Title: ヤクザと憲法 (Yakuza to Kenpo)

How do yakuza live their lives, and what are in their minds? In an attempt to answer these questions, a Tokai TV crew entered the office of an Osaka-based designated organized crime syndicate, Nidaime Higashi-gumi Nidaime Seiyukai, and followed them for 100 days. The Seiyukai chairman had served over 20 years in prison for his alleged involvement ina 1985 murder case. This case is claimed to have served as the impetus for the enactment of the 1992 Organized Crime Countermeasures Law, a legal change that fundamentally reconfigured the relation between the yakuza and the police, and has brought profound changes to the structure of organized crime in Japan. Since the implementation of these organized crime exclusionary laws, yakuza membership has seen a serious decline in number, down to under 60,000, with 30,000 members leaving in the last three years.

Yakuza and the Constitution captures the backgrounds of Seiyukai members and their possible engagement with shinogi (yakuza’s fundraising activities), an ojiki (uncle figure) member treating a new member like his son, as well as a member’s arrest followed by a police raid. The chairman is depicted making claims about human rights violations against yakuza and their families. He asserts that yakuza cannot make bank accounts and have problems paying their children’s school lunch fees, but the majority of lawyers won’t give a hand to them.

This groundbreaking documentary sheds light on issues of human rights and social exclusion, authority and violence, and the powerful and the powerless, by unveiling the everyday realities of those living at the margins of Japanese society.

The film has drawn large crowds to theaters all over Japan this year, and Temple University Japan Campus is proud to host its English premiere. After the screening, film director Koji Hijikata will share stories behind the camera, to be followed by a Q&A and discussion with the audience. Yakuza and the Constitution was produced and is distributed by Tokai Television Broadcasting Co, Ltd. in association with Tofoo, Llc.

Its website is at http://www.893-kenpou.com/
This event is co-sponsored with ICAS and TUJ Research department.