Going straight: Japan's yakuza
① A local government launches a novel bid this week to fight organised crime.
② Fukuoka Prefecture has earmarked ¥4.2m ($40,000) to lure gangsters from the demimonde.
③ Fukuoka is a yakuza stronghold, reportedly with more than 2,000 affiliated members.
④ Officials say the money will pay for accommodation and travel to job interviews.
⑤ It's not much, but any such subsidy marks a change in the government's stance.
⑥ Though tough new laws have sent yakuza membership plummeting, it remains a potent criminal force—and an evolving one.
⑦ Traditional cash cows such as extortion and prostitution have given way to harder-to-detect financial crimes, and mobsters are reportedly eyeing rich pickings from construction and entertainment contracts ahead of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
⑧ Even for the increasing number who want out, it can be a struggle: many mobsters are instantly recognisable thanks to elaborate tattoos and missing fingers, lopped off in atonement for serious in-house offences.
▍生词好句
go straight: 洗心革面
straight /streɪt/: adj. 直的；正直的
yakuza /jəˈkuːzə/: n. 极道
launch /lɔːntʃ/: vt. 发动；发布
novel /ˈnɒv(ə)l/: adj. 新颖的 n. 小说
bid /bɪd/: n.（政治性）运动（= campaign）
fight organised crime: 打击组织性犯罪
prefecture /ˈpriːfɛktjʊə/: n. 地方政府
earmark /ˈɪəmɑːk/: vt. 指定用途 n. 标记；指定的专款
lure /lʊr/: vt. 吸引；引诱
demimonde /ˈdɛmiˌmɑnd/: n. 边缘世界；地下世界
stronghold /ˈstrɔŋˌhoʊld/: n. 据点
affiliated /əfɪlieɪtɪd/: adj. 附属的；有关联的
affiliate /əˈfɪliˌeɪt/: vt. 隶属
accommodation /əˌkɑməˈdeɪʃ(ə)n/: n. 住宿
subsidy /ˈsʌbsədi/: n. 补助
subsidise /ˈsʌbsɪdaɪz/: vt. 补助
stance /stans/: n. 立场；观点
plummet /ˈplʌmɪt/: vi. 迅速下降 n. 铅坠
potent /ˈpoʊtnt/: adj. 有力量的
cash cow: 现金牛；传统的重要的主要盈利模式
star product: 明星产品
question mark: 问题产品
dog: n. 瘦狗产品
Boston Matrix: 波士顿矩阵
extortion /ɪkˈstɔrʃ(ə)n/: n. 敲诈勒索
prostitution /ˌprɑstəˈt(j)uʃ(ə)n/: n. 娼妓业
give way to: 让路；让道
money laundry: 洗黑钱
mobster /ˈmɑbstər/: n. 小混混；暴徒
eye: vt. 盯上；密切关注
picking: n. 好处
lop off /lɑp/: 砍掉；剁掉
atonement /əˈtoʊnmənt/: n. 赎罪；补偿
in-house /ˈɪn ˈhaʊs/: adj. 机构内部的
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