I can't help feeling that if the J-government was serious about stamping out the yaks, they would introduce (if it doesn't exist already) and ENFORCE (which is the important part) "proceeds of crime" legislation to cut off the funds of these organisations AND anyone who uses them - like Suruga Corporation's 27 billion yen profit from having the yaks empty the tenants from the five buildings mentioned in the article.
To complement this, if they also prosecute and impose hefty fines on anyone found to have been involved with such criminal groups and/or activities (using the test "where a reasonable person should have known"), and also fire any such persons who are government employees, I would think that the yaks' friends in higher places would largely evaporate (or perhaps 'sublimate'
).
It's nice that one group of citizens is fighting back, but that's only because of the real danger they're facing now. The rest of the country seems largely complacent (if not comfortable), including government and industry.
Just my 2 yen - I'll get off the soapbox now.
