Takegaki had been a yakuza enforcer for 32 years, a tough guy who was close to the Yamaguchi-gumi boss. But over time he had grown disillusioned: money was scarce, and newcomers ignored the sense of honour and tradition that he believed should underpin yakuza life. When a boss’s son was gunned down in a dispute, Takegaki left the Yamaguchi-gumi altogether. There are, in theory, ways to retire from yakuza life. But Takegaki’s former colleagues didn’t accept his departure. They shot up his house, after which he installed CCTV cameras and slept with a sword by his side.
Soon after, in the city of Himeji, he founded Gojinkai, an NGO helping other yakuza leave the criminal life. Gojinkai aimed to address a major issue for anyone trying to ditch the yakuza and join the legal economy. Authorities consider them members for five years after leaving – meaning they are left unbanked, unable to find employment, and more susceptible to rejoining the underworld. Ex-yakuza “are afloat in the grey zone,” says Herbert. “So there is no way for them to get out of the criminal scene.”
By 2020, when Nishimura first met Takegaki, he was often quoted in the media predicting the yakuza’s demise. She began visiting the Gojinkai office once a month, joining Takegaki and other former yakuza in a street-cleaning exercise. It was “wonderful to see such a bigshot in the past taking the initiative to pick up trash”, she writes. Nishimura’s inability to leave her criminal past behind had left her poor, alone and jobless. But she was inspired by Takegaki. “If he can do it,” she thought, “so can I.”
Working with Gojinkai gave Nishimura a sense of purpose. After the pandemic, Takegaki allowed her to open a branch just minutes from her old gang HQ in Gifu. She helps former members with housing and drug rehab, and finds work for some of them at a local demolition firm. “I want to let people know that whatever you’ve done in your past, you can still face the future,” she said. “And you can sort yourself out.”
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