It's like a difference between a rapist and a murderer. I'm sure you can argue either side but I'd rather have them both locked up.
Per the article, it's more like the difference between a violent criminal and a white collar criminal.
Re:Yakuza
by wahnfrieden on Monday September 03, 2012 @01:16PM
(#4471054)
They extort via threat of violence, and they do follow-up if they're not paid.
I'm sure they're just stealing company stationery.
The articles doesn't actually mention any examples of this purported white collar crime, unless you count extortion as such.
The Yakuza are less violent because they are tolerated to a certain extent. They have an incentive not to anger the public because it means the cops will have to do something. It's bad for business and anyway who wants to go to jail?
The Mexican cartels aren't tolerated at all, in the US or in Mexico. When they get caught sentences are pretty much already maxed out, so they have nothing to lose by being as brutal as possible.
If I remember correctly there is a very strict weapons control in Japan, has this guided the development of the Yakuza?