TOKYO, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Japan's largest crime syndicate has increased its membership to nearly 40,000, the highest since the nation enforced an anti-gang law in 1992.
The National Police Agency reported Thursday that the Yamaguchi-gumi, based in the city of Kobe, had 39,200 members as of Dec. 31. Other major crime syndicates had not grown, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Friday.
The increase of the Yamaguchi-gumi appeared to be the result of integration with small and medium-size crime organizations as a means of survival.
There were 87,000 crime syndicate members nationwide in 2004, up 1,200 from 2003, marking the ninth consecutive yearly increase.
Yamaguchi-gumi has noticeably expanded its activities in the Kanto region around Tokyo. In November, more than 100 members of a group affiliated with another crime syndicate based in Shizuoka Prefecture joined several crime organizations affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi.
