Manabu Miyazaki
- Manabu Miyazaki is also the name of a Japanese wildlife photographer. For that entry, see Manabu Miyazaki (photographer).
Manabu Miyazaki (宮崎 学 Miyazaki Manabu, born October 25, 1945) is a Japanese writer, social critic and public figure known for his underworld ties.
While not a member of any particular yakuza syndicate, Miyazaki describes himself as a "freelance yakuza" and has the credentials to prove it. He was born in Kyoto, Japan; his father was a yakuza boss in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, and his mother came from an Osaka yakuza family. In September 1986, he was almost killed in a yakuza shootout at a Kyoto restaurant.
As a teenager and college student, Miyazaki became involved in the left-wing politics of the Japanese Communist Party but dropped out in 1969 to pursue an underworld life, including running his family's yakuza-connected demolition business.
In 1985, Miyazaki was named by the Tokyo police as the prime suspect in the Glico Morinaga case, a 17-month saga of kidnapping and corporate extortion. He was later cleared.[1]
Miyazaki is the author of several best-selling books in Japan, where he is considered a "celebrity criminal". His autobiography Toppamono sold 600,000 copies and has since been translated into English.
Translated work
- Manabu Miyazaki; Toppamono: Outlaw. Radical. Suspect. My Life in Japan's Underworld (2005, Kotan Publishing, ISBN 0-9701716-2-5)
See also
References
- ↑ Sayaka Yakushiji (22 October 2005). "Weekend Beat: `Thoroughbred yakuza' survives suspicion, shootout". Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 15 September 2011.