Japanese gang membership numbers fall for first time since 1995

Membership in Japan 's crime gangs dropped last year for the first time since 1995, according to police survey data.

Gang membership stood at 86,300 at the end of 2005, a drop of 700 from the previous year, a National Policy Agency report released Thursday said.

The largest underworld syndicate, Yamaguchi-gumi, had around 41,000 members, which accounted for 47.5 percent of the total, according to the report.

Japan 's gangsters commonly called yakuza are among the world's wealthiest, bringing in billions of dollars a year from extortion, gambling, the sex industry, guns, drugs, and real estate and construction kickbacks. They are also involved in stock market manipulation and Internet pornography, reports the AP.

D.M.