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It figures that something like this would be coming, since he is such an avid collector of the things, but Jake has written a detailed rundown of magazines published by fans of the Yakuza for Publishing Perspectives.
The Japanese mafia, better known as the yakuza, has been the subject of fan magazines for decades. These magazines serve as de-facto trade periodicals for a world of vicious, autocratic thugs, men who are handy with swords and guns, sport full-body tattoos, deal in illegal contraband and laundered money, and rip off the general public; all the while funneling money and power to their families and kigyoshatei (corporate blood brothers). What may be even more surprising is how easy the yakuza fan magazines are to find: they are readily available at newsstands, convenience stores, bookstores, public libraries and even some government offices.
It isn’t a shock that this happens in Japan, where yakuza are viewed as legal entities, and they operate under the cover of being fraternal organizations “dedicated to the preservation of traditional values,” much like the Rotary Club or the Boy Scouts are in the United States. According to the National Police Agency, there are 22 such recognized yakuza groups, claiming a total of 86,000 members. They have their own office buildings or, in the case of the Yamaguchi-gumi, which has emerged as the largest yakuza group in the country and claims 50,000 members and affiliates, a compound/headquarters in Kobe that takes up almost an entire city block.
Many Japanese people, including some police officers, have great awe and admiration for these tattooed gangsters. They are seen by some as lovable outlaws, a necessary evil (必要悪) keeping the streets safe from “evil foreign criminals.” And in the eyes of the middle-aged salaryman, the yakuza are real men living the ideal life, one filled with an excess of money, booze, excitement, and beautiful women (as well as retirement packages that are better than those of Japan’s leading automakers). It is little wonder, then, that the beaten down office worker turns to the yakuza fan magazines as a way to escape and fantasize about a better, more glamorous life.
Read the rest here: The Strange World of Yakuza Fan Magazines