so, in effect, Yakuza is not that different from other businesses.

Calling them a business describes it spot on.

Afaik they are pretty much to most "corporate" like crime syndicate out there. Complete with charity drives for good PR [0]

[0] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yakuza/yakuza-among-first...

I've always found the relationship between Japan and the Yakuza to be fascinating. You have a country with an ostensibly lawful-good alignment, collectivists with a strong sense of social order and responsibility, where what would be minor drug crimes anywhere else carry hard prison time, and guns and knives are strictly regulated. Actors and politicians with Yakuza ties are scandalized by the media, yet the Yamaguchi-Gumi give out candy to kids for Halloween as if they were Boy Scouts, if the Boy Scouts had merit badges for child porn, human trafficking, money laundering and drugs.

And they're apparently all over the video game industry in Japan, the way the Mafia was all over construction and sanitation in New York during the 1970s. I just kind of assume they made Konami an offer they couldn't refuse when that company recently decided to leave non-mobile games and pivot into pachinko and slot machines.

It’s easy to find their offices in most cities. They’re not hiding. The one in my neighborhood looks like it could be a software company or a bank office. The plaque outside identifies a gang that is centuries old. Many of the homes in the area announce the owner’s rank outside.