60-year-old man’s application paperwork lands him in trouble.

The Japanese mafia, known as the yakuza, have a pretty notorious reputation. Although they try to keep a positive image by handing out candy on Halloween, their association with prostitution, drugs, and gambling is their most pervasive impression.

Such as their reputation is, members of organized crime are rather frowned upon by Japanese society, which leads them to be unwelcome in many organizations and public spaces. One 60-year-old man in Kasugai City, Aichi Prefecture, west of Tokyo, found this out when he tried to work part-time at the Post Office, but instead ended up fired and arrested for being paid for his work.

Now you may ask, what’s so wrong with a man earning an honest wage at a part-time job? Well, it seems that in order to get a job at the Post Office, you have to sign a contract that says, “I am not a member of an organized crime group” which the man did when he took the position. Unfortunately, he was associated with the Yamaguchi Clan, the most powerful yakuza clan in the country and one of the most powerful organized crime units in the world. Naturally this meant that the man violated his contract with the Post Office, and of course once his secret was out after just four days of working there, he was immediately fired.

But why was he arrested? The details are not exactly clear, but it seems that it’s because he received pay under fraudulent conditions. The police were searching the Yamaguchi clan office, where they found records that he’d received a direct deposit of pay from the Post Office to his bank account. Police then arrested the man, who admitted to his crime, and are now conducting an investigation into the man’s motive for taking a job at the Post Office.

▼ “Another one in the books!”

Japanese netizens’ responses were a mixed bag of sympathy and criticism, but most of the responses seemed concerned about the money, with many saying, “He worked, so he should get paid, shouldn’t he?”

“It’s just part-time wages, why not give it to him?”
“He didn’t scam anything lol”
“He was arrested for working earnestly lol”
“It’s fine if he actually worked, don’t you think?”
“It’s okay if they fired him once the secret was out, but aren’t they supposed to pay him for the time he worked? This is weird.”

While others were completely unsympathetic:

“That’s definitely scamming. Besides, he caused the Post Office to ruin their good image because they hired a yakuza member.”
“That money would have been paid to the government in some other kind of crime, so we have to have harden our hearts and take care of the problem now.”
“I have no sympathy for this guy. It’s all his fault since all he had to do was just quit the mafia.”
“It’s because companies aren’t supposed to associate with organized crime.”

So what do you think? Is it a sinister but botched infiltration of a vital national organization? Or is it an older man trying to amend his ways and make an honest living? Whatever the story, hopefully it doesn’t end up as another movie-style yakuza romance.

Source: Yahoo! News via Itai News
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Pakutaso (1, 2)