Yakuza’s Series 7 Exam Is Harbinger for Economy: William Pesek

Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s underworld can tell you a lot about what’s happening in the legitimate economy.

Gangsters are on the run as growth wanes and deflation worsens. Yet the oddest development by far involves yakuza members sitting for exams covering key aspects of their work.

If you think this is just a law-enforcement issue, think again. It’s a sign Japan’s funk will be longer than economists predict. That may surprise those betting Japan is recovering. Oddly, though, the plight of gangsters tells the story.

Read full article here: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aXERm052xVHI

Yakuza try matchmaking business to make ends meet

These are hard times for us all; hardest of all, says Spa! (July 21), for the yakuza. Once, organized crime bands pursued glory, as they saw it. Now it’s a brute, inglorious hustle for mere survival. Nothing’s beneath them, as long as it pays. Couple this fact with a surging marriage boom, and you get… yakuza infiltrating the matchmaking business? Sure enough, the magazine finds.

The buzzword is “konkatsu,” meaning literally “marriage activity” and written with characters suggesting a similarity to job-hunting. Singles once content to be that way are suddenly in the market for marriage partners, and brokerages, inevitably, are springing up to meet the demand.

Read full article here: http://www.japantoday.com/category/kuchikomi/view/yakuza-try-matchmaking-business-to-make-ends-meet