TOKYO — A member of one of Japan's infamous "yakuza" organized crime syndicates has been arrested for illegally sending men to work at a construction company helping to clean-up the area around the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant, police said Thursday.

Yoshinori Arai, 40, who allegedly belongs to the Sumiyoshikai crime group, was detained after he sent three workers to do decontamination work without proper permits in November, according to Yamagata police.

The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported the three men aged in their 50s were paid about $164 to $186 a day, mainly for cutting grass and other decontamination work.  A third of the pay went to Arai, according to the report.

Police said they were also investigating a similar case involving 10 other workers allegedly sent to the area in December.

Related:

Worker at Japan's tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant: Firm sent crews into danger

Slideshow: Devastation in Japan after quake

Some 126 workers for a city in Japan could reportedly lose their jobs because they have tattoos.

Authorities in Osaka are considering asking employees who have tattoos to have them removed or look for another job, The Guardian newspaper reported.

"Some workplaces may tolerate tattoos, but that shouldn't be the case for public servants," the city’s mayor Toru Hashimoto reportedly said. "If they insist on having tattoos, they had better leave the city office and go and work in the private sector."

Tattoos in Japan are sometimes associated with membership of Mafia-style criminal gangs called yakuza.

The Guardian said some large companies in Japan have already banned workers from having tattoos.

Authorities in Osaka are considering what to do after carrying out a survey of the city’s 30,000 employees, the paper reported. Staff were asked whether they had tattoos – either visible or normally concealed by clothing – and how long they had had them for. About 800 people refused to respond to the survey.

More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• Inside Syria rebel stronghold: 'The city is on mute'
• Will $95-million cable car be ready for Olympics?
• What's behind China's crackdown on foreigners?
• NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin answers Syria questions
• Royal rumble: Spain's queen snubs UK queen
• Italian university to switch to English-only classes
• Germany's Pirate Party rides wave of popularity

Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world