Yami Baito is a recent new modality for crimes. According to the Japanese Police it was a new way by Yakuza Syndicates to reach young Japanese lately disenchanted about Yakuza life. Better than asking for a life of loyalty, some Yakuza offer a one time job in exchange for a large amount of money.
The Yami Baito Culture and a New Yakuza Fashion Crime
Baito in Japan is huge. Usually Baito means a pert time job but can include some hourly jobs even one day a week. Or a one time job offer from an individual like finding a lost pet for example. This kind of Baito is in vogue since the popularity of social media. Some offers for one time Baito usually are on a person to person kind of deal.
This is where Yakuza jumped into this new modality. Offering an attractive sum of money in exchange for a one time job but not a life affiliated to the Yakuza Family. This was called Yami Baito by the Japanese media, YAMI meaning Dark. Yakuza have lost the charm around youngsters in Japan. And the number of members are declining with every year according to official numbers by the Japanese Police.
A popular Yami Baito asks for drivers. Usually to drive out of a robbery scene to Yakuza members. Another popular one is to carry drugs or weapons from one part of the Country to another. Avoiding the Police that usually has most Yakuza members identified. Some pity robbery is another popular Yami Baito. Including ATM cards or ID documents. Then mostly used to blackmail the owners. According to the Police this is a new way for Yakuza to recruit personnel. It means a change in the old fashion recruitment Yakuza style that preferred to incorporate a member and model in a loyal path to the family.
The Real Pirate Luffy in the Sea of Philippines
Between 2020 and 2022 a criminal group from Japan operated from a hotel in Makati. A financial center in the Philippines. The leader of the group operated by the alias of Luffy. In an allusion to the world famous One Piece manga and anime.
From the Philippines the criminal group extorted more than a thousands of Japanese in a telecom fashioned fraud. They recruited people to work on Japanese ground via Telegram. Making it one of the biggest cases of Yami Baito to this day. They were deported to Japan after damage costing over two billion yen.
Most of the time they recruited Japanese via the Telegram app in order to steal ATM cards acting like Japanese Police officials. Once they get an ATM card the group in Makati extorted the victims by phone and mail. This was an alert to the Police and most Japanese population that used to blame Yami Baito only on Yakuza Syndicates.
Today Yami Baito is growing steadily, mainly after the COVID lockdown when work at home started to popularize in Japan. It is a new concern for the Police since it’s proved that not only Yakuza can use this criminal methodology.