Can PR spin help yakuza group shed unsavoury image?

TOKYO – Visible branding efforts by underworld syndicates are few and far between. But the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan’s largest Yakuza group, is aiming to position itself as a quasi-humanitarian organisation with a new website. Antony Cundy (pictured), executive business and strategy director at Beacon Leo Burnett, shares his views on an improbable approach.