List of Yakuza syndicates

Yakuza (ヤクザ), also known as gokudō (極道), are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan.

Four largest syndicates
Although yakuza membership has declined following an anti-gang law aimed specifically at yakuza and passed by the Japanese government in 1992, there are thought to be about 25,900 active yakuza members in Japan today.

Designated bōryokudan
A designated boryokudan (指定暴力団) is a "particularly harmful" yakuza group registered by the Prefectural Public Safety Commissions under the Organized Crime Countermeasures Law (暴力団対策法) enacted in 1991.

The numbers that follow the names of bōryokudan groups refer to the group's leadership. For example, Yoshinori Watanabe headed the Yamaguchi-gumi fifth; on his retirement, Shinobu Tsukasa became head of the Yamaguchi-gumi sixth, and "Yamaguchi-gumi VI" is the group's formal name.