TOKYO - Japan's National Police Agency and Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department launched a new structure on October 1st to pursue the leaders of the so-called Tokuryu, an 'anonymous and fluid' crime group responsible for large-scale fraud and violent robberies linked to black-market recruitment.
Metropolitan Police Superintendent General Yuji Sakurada declared: "We must weaken these anonymous, fluid crime groups as soon as possible and drive them to destruction."
Tokuryu has been tied to record losses from special fraud schemes as well as robbery cases involving illegally recruited part-time workers. In response, the Metropolitan Police established a dedicated headquarters to counter anonymous crime groups, along with a Special Investigation Division to focus on ringleaders.
The National Police Agency also set up an Information Analysis Office for Anonymous Crime Groups, designed to centralize intelligence from across the country and identify core perpetrators.
In addition, a new unit known as the Tokuryu Targeting Team, or T3, was created within the Metropolitan Police, tasked with dismantling Tokuryu’s illicit business model through specialized investigations.
Tokuryu, short for “匿名・流動型犯罪グループ” (Anonymous and Fluid Crime Groups), is the term used by Japanese police to describe loosely organized criminal networks that exploit anonymity and mobility to carry out large-scale fraud and violent crimes. These groups do not have the rigid hierarchies of traditional yakuza organizations but instead operate as decentralized, internet-driven syndicates.
Tokuryu is most commonly associated with special fraud cases (tokushu sagi), such as “ore-ore” scams, where victims are deceived into transferring money by criminals impersonating family members or officials. Losses from these frauds have reached record levels in recent years, with many cases linked back to Tokuryu networks.
The groups also engage in “yami baito” robberies, where young people are recruited online through anonymous job postings, often on social media or encrypted messaging apps. These recruits, sometimes unaware of the full extent of the crimes, are instructed to break into homes or commit assaults in exchange for quick cash. Police have noted that this recruitment method makes the organizations highly adaptable and difficult to trace.
Unlike yakuza, Tokuryu members rarely show visible affiliations and often switch identities and roles. Their leaders are believed to operate from overseas, using technology to direct operations while shielding themselves from direct exposure.
The Japanese police view Tokuryu as a new type of organized crime, one that undermines traditional methods of policing by leveraging anonymity, digital communication, and fluid structures. This is why authorities are setting up new investigative frameworks—such as the Information Analysis Office and the Tokuryu Targeting Team (T3)—to break down these networks and pursue their ringleaders.
Source: TBS
