A ranking gang member has pleaded not guilty to the charge of fatally shooting the head of the Gyoza no Osho restaurant chain in Kyoto in 2013. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/26/japan/crime-legal/yakuza-shooting-plea/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #yakuza #guns

For three decades, Mako Nishimura was one of Japan's few female yakuza. These days, she helps other retired gangsters reintegrate into society. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/21/japan/society/yakuza-woman-redemption/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #yakuza #gangs #japanesepolice #gifu #drugs

Akira Otani’s “The Night of Baba Yaga” is a genre-bending novel of violence and tenderness that defies easy categorization. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/07/04/entertainment-news/akira-otani-the-night-of-baba-yaga-crime-writing-award/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #entertainmentnews#japaneseliterature #akiraotani #sambett #thenightofbabayaga #translation #lgbtq #yakuza