INTERVIEW: Ex-Police Chief Pins Hopes on New “Tokuryu” Measures

Tokyo, Sept. 21 (Jiji Press)–Yasuhiro Tsuyuki, former commissioner-general of Japan’s National Police Agency, has pinned high hopes on new measures aimed at cracking down on “tokuryu” crime groups comprising loosely connected anonymous members and operating on social media. In October, Japanese police are set to conduct organizational reform intended to better combat tokuryu groups, such as setting up a new dedicated investigation team and strengthening information gathering and analysis to help identify ringleaders. In a recent interview with Jiji Press, Tsuyuki stressed the importance of measures to fight tokuryu groups and said, “If (the reorganization) works, considerable results can be achieved.” “The key to fighting organized crime is to take action against core members and neutralize the organizations,” he said. Japanese police have succeeded in weakening “boryokudan” organized crime syndicates through intensive crackdowns on their leaders and other key members, Tsuyuki said. However, conventional crackdown methods do not work in the fight against tokuryu groups, because they use highly confidential communication apps and recruit perpetrators through social media and it is therefore unclear who are the ringleaders, Tsuyuki said. It is important to identify masterminds and other key members by widely sharing and analyzing information obtained through investigations, in addition to stepping up efforts to clamp down on crimes such as special fraud, money laundering and robberies, which are major revenue sources for tokuryu groups, he stressed. Tsuyuki praised the upcoming reorganization, saying, “The cross-organizational efforts are appropriate.” As part of the reorganization, the NPA will set up a new department to gather information from police departments around the country for detailed analyses. Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department will form a new headquarters in charge of creating crackdown strategies. The headquarters, to be led by the deputy chief of the Tokyo police, will be comprised of MPD investigators and some 200 officers who will be gathered by April 2026 from prefectural police departments across the country. The MPD will also establish a dedicated investigation team made up of some 450 officers. “I believe the series of measures are very suitable and will produce considerable results,” Tsuyuki said. Challenges remain, however, including difficulties conducting investigations against tokuryu groups that have their bases overseas. Underlining the importance of cooperating with law-enforcement authorities of foreign countries, Tsuyuki said that police can “weaken tokuryu groups” by constantly working with overseas investigative authorities and expanding the NPA’s international investigation division. While tokuryu groups benefit from up-to-date technologies, such as highly confidential apps, the conventional investigation techniques including wiretapping are primarily targeted at traditional communication methods such as telephone and email and are outdated. “The legal system has not caught up with the reality,” Tsuyuki said. Strengthening measures to prevent damage from crimes committed by tokuryu groups is also crucial. Tsuyuki cited good examples of Facebook and Instagram successfully reducing celebrity scam ads. “If there is an environment where it is difficult to commit crimes, it could have a deterrent effect,” Tsuyuki said, noting efforts by social media platform operators, such as creating a system to utilize artificial intelligence to detect fake arrest warrants, often used by tokuryu groups in special fraud, and issue a warning. Investigation methods and systems, and damage prevention measures need to be constantly reviewed and upgraded, Tsuyuki said. To make these truly effective, “we need to look at the essence of the problem” without being bound by “precedents” and “fear of criticism from society,” he said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]