Based on interviews and institutional documents, this article focuses on the wards of Kabukichō (Tokyo) and Nakasu (Fukuoka) – traditionally spaces of yakuza presence – examining how the increasing grip of the politics of surveillance over urbanscapes and the consequent spatial displacement of the yakuza induced a change in the yakuza’s relationship with their surroundings. This article explores the relationship between organised crime and (in)visibility through the unusual case of a criminal group that ironically strives for visibility, and aims to investigate the socio-spatial consequences of the invisibilisation of the yakuza. Meanwhile, gentrification and temporary fortification of big cities have already changed the urban landscape and expelled elements of visual disturbance: marginal and dangerous ‘others’ such as the yakuza and the homeless.

The intensification of the neoliberal drive took these processes to the extreme: political élites are urging to hide the yakuza from international scrutiny.

However, recent changes in legislation have restrictively regulated these spaces, and the hygienisation of central neighbourhoods that used to be vital loci of yakuza activity has eroded the visibility of the groups. Japanese criminal syndicates, the yakuza, made instead visibility a key feature of the spaces they occupy through an overt display of their presence in the territory: in the past, a yakuza headquarter could have been instantly recognised by the crest and group name emblazoned on the front wall.

Spaces occupied by organised crime are usually kept secret, hidden, invisible. Once the conditions conducive to extreme violence emerge, Los Zetas exploits it to attain utilitarian objectives. Through ritualization, Los Zetas influences executioners' perceptions of extreme behavior from something abhorrent into something valued, desirable, and enjoyable. More specifically, I contend that the OCG known as Los Zetas ritualizes executions to generate the conditions that make extreme violence possible. I argue that analyzing extreme killings as organizational rituals can contribute to reconciling these seemingly conflicting views. In their view, these situations are largely beyond OCGs' control. Conversely, psycho-sociological scholars argue that extreme killings only occur in situations that affect perpetrators' reasoning and emotions. Why do some organized crime groups (OCGs) carry out face-to-face killings where perpetrators debase their victims and defile their bodies? Leading criminologists contend that OCGs carry out extreme killings deliberately to attain specific performance objectives.

Yakuza kaplan