Shinobu Tsukasa is missing the top portion of the little finger on his left hand, the traditional, self-inflicted wound that is the badge - often worn with honour - of a member of one of Japan's underworld groups. The injury is old and healed, and the transgression that required such atonement is probably all but forgotten by the head of the notorious Yamaguchi-gumi gang. It is in sharp contrast with the wound Tsukasa has just inflicted on the largest yakuza group in Japan, a wound that is still raw and, it is feared, will lead to a new bout of blood-letting as rival splinter groups and factions jostle for power, territory and, ultimately, money. The threat to public security posed by...
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