yakuza

noun ya·ku·za \ ˈyä-ku̇-ˌzä \

Definition of yakuza

plural yakuza

1 :a Japanese gangster

2 :an organized crime syndicate in Japan

Recent Examples of yakuza from the Web

FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME PRINT COMMENTS Director Takashi Miike reprises the breathless craziness of his 2013 cops-and-yakuza hit in a sequel with even more action, again starring the irrepressible Toma Ikuta.

— deborah young, The Hollywood Reporter, "'The Mole Song — Hong Kong Capriccio': Film Review | Shanghai 2017," 30 June 2017
In a separate case in December, two men connected to a yakuza crime syndicate, the Inagawa-kai, were arrested at an airport in Okinawa after flying in from Macau with 250 pounds of gold stashed aboard a Gulfstream private jet.

— jonathan soble, New York Times, "Gangsters, Grandmothers and Gold: Japan’s New Crime Wave," 14 June 2017
By Min Jin Lee (Grand Central Publishing) Sunja is a teenager from a poor family in pre-World War II Korea who is seduced by a Japanese yakuza and becomes pregnant.

— The Denver Post, "Summer 2017 reads: Books worthy of your time and worth an escape," 5 June 2017
The reason for this hardline stance against tattoos in public places is that, because in Japan, tattoos are associated with yakuza — or members the Japanese mafia.

— Fox News, "How a tattoo can get you banned from enjoying a Japanese spa," 31 May 2017
This is because tattoos are strongly associated with organized crime here — specifically the yakuza, or Japanese mafia — and are therefore almost universally viewed with repugnance.

— anna fifield, Washington Post, "A Japanese artist takes on a country that despises tattoos," 25 Apr. 2017
The firm’s leader promises to help clear his name and help his mentor win a power struggle within his Tokyo yakuza clan.

— gieson cacho, The Mercury News, "Review: ‘Yakuza 0’ makes a fresh start from the beginning," 1 Feb. 2017
Copying Seymour’s files, which the author had gathered from archives, courts, and a confidential source’s hidden trailer, Begley glimpsed the far reaches of the speculation: bioweapons, Lebanese heroin shipments, Howard Hughes, the yakuza.

— andrew rice, WIRED, "The Octopus Conspiracy: One Woman’s Search for Her Father’s Killer," 4 Feb. 2011

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'yakuza.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.