They have not banned the yakuza, who claim to be humanitarian organisations with ancient roots in Japanese culture; instead the government has recognised their right to exist and regulated them with increasingly stringent laws.
He's not even saying they won't recognise its right to exist.
This was partly due to a freeze on aid by Western donors, who insisted that the Islamists should recognise Israel's right to exist and honour existing agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Mr Obama said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who will visit the White House on 17 March, was "sincere about his willingness to recognise Israel and its right to exist, to recognise Israel's legitimate security needs, to shun violence, to resolve these issues in a diplomatic fashion that meets the concerns of the people of Israel".
To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, and to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognise past agreements, and recognise Israel's right to exist.
For those who think the Soviet empire died years ago, I can attest it is alive and well, and flourishing at Sheremetyevo airport.John OrdovasMadridExisting problemsSIR - Recognising "Israel's right to exist" is quite different from recognising that "Israel exists" ("A recognition problem", January 12th, Economist.com).
George Bush said the United States would not deal with a Hamas-led government unless the party recognised Israel's right to exist.
He said that unless within ten days Hamas recognised Israel's right to exist within its pre-1967 borders, in accordance with a proposal drafted by Fatah and Hamas members presently in Israeli jails, he would put the proposal to a referendum.
As for the idea that the Palestinians aren't serious about a peace deal, we've been hearing that excuse for a good 20 years now from the Israeli right, ever since Yasser Arafat and the PLO first recognised Israel's right to exist.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) which controls the West Bank, Israel's Arab citizens, and the Arab League have recognised Israel's right to exist.
For example, Baker-Hamilton proposes talks between Israel and those Palestinians who recognise its right to exist but the Palestinians' present Hamas government refuses to recognise Israel's right to exist.
