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How do criminals communicate and organise across cultures?

Objective

The repression of organised criminal groups (OCGs) in a country can lead to a paradoxical outcome: their expansion abroad. In Japan, intensified actions against the yakuza, Japan's OCGs, over the past fifteen years have resulted not only in a reduction of formal membership, but also in a strategic exploration of opportunities beyond national borders. The yakuza's established trade networks in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China are well-documented, and recent reports indicate the emergence of branch offices in various East and Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand, suggesting that they are becoming entrenched with local environments.

While scholarship has examined why OCGs move, there is a lack of understanding of how they move: how they form the connections with other OCGs, how they manage to communicate successfully across cultures, why they fail. This research project, CrimCross, aims to bridge the gap in understanding how OCGs overcome cultural and language barriers in foreign territories. It will investigate the strategies employed by OCGs as they expand their operations internationally: how they approach socio-cultural contexts, linguistic challenges, and new legal landscapes when communicating with foreign OCGs.

Focusing specifically on the yakuza, the project will examine their interactions in East Asia (South Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan) and Southeast Asia (Thailand) to measure how adaptability plays a role in the penetration of OCGs in a local environment. By analysing three levels of interaction - culture, language, and law - CrimCross will not only contribute to theoretical discourses on OCG movement and communication, but will also offer valuable insights into the under-explored Asian criminal markets, and practical implications for policy development to mitigate the infiltration of OCGs into foreign territories.

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HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

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(opens in new window) ERC-2025-STG

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Host institution

THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 367 033,79
Address
WELLINGTON SQUARE UNIVERSITY OFFICES
OX1 2JD Oxford
United Kingdom

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Region
South East (England) Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Oxfordshire
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 367 033,79

Beneficiaries (2)

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