Don Luskin‘s
post on the Kobe earthquake reminded me of the essential role the
yakuza played in providing relief after the world’s costliest natural
disaster. As one site put it: “Immediately after the Kobe earthquake, Yamaguchi-gumi whose headquarters are in Kobe
mobilised itself to provide disaster relief services, and this was
reported by media as a contrast to the much slower response by the
Japanese government.”