Even if you estimate the number of yakuza members in Japan at 80,000–that still seems like a hard quota to fill, especially in smaller cities in Japan where the yakuza presence may be slim.  Police officers in Saitama, while not confirming the exact number,  said about the quota, “It’s not an easy number to fill. It almost makes you wish there was a gang war between the Sumiyoshi-kai and the Yamaguchi-gumi again….just kidding. Sort of.”  However, officers in Osaka said, “20? We could do that in a week. This town is infested with yakuza. On loan sharking charges alone we can round up twenty.”

The National Police Agency allegedly set a quota for yakuza arrests nationwide. First the exclusionary ordinances, and now this. Life isn't easy for the nine-fingered guy. (Illustration from the Shizuoka Prefecture PD)

The National Police Agency would not comment and it is unclear whether the quota is actually for the police headquarters of each Tokyo, Hokkaido, Osaka, Kyoto and the other 43 prefectures or the police stations within each Police HQ’s turf. One thing is for certain, when the NPA starts establishing quotas on cracking down on something, they’re very serious about it.

One thing that hasn’t changed though is the tradition of designating certain months of the year Special Concentrated Crackdown On Organized Crime Month(集中取り締まり月間). In the old days, the organized crime control cops (known as マル暴刑事・marubokeiji) would call up the local crime bosses and warn them to be on their best behavior. In the last two years, that practice has ceased almost completely. The days when crackdowns on the Japanese mafia were done with civility and decorum appear to be a thing of the past. Even raids on gang headquarters are now often done without advance warning. Times are changing.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's insightful documentary on the modern yakuza.

 I cooperated with the film production but Mark Willacy and the crew they did all the ground work even interviewing the family of the Mayor of Nagasaki. He was assassinated after refusing to capitulate to the yakuza or give them any share of the city public work projects. There is a long interview with Shoko Tendo, author of Yakuza Moon and some footage from Itami Juzo’s ground breaking film about the modern yakuza, MINBO NO ONNA (The Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion).  Kishi Kohei-san, the head of the National Police Agency anti-organized crime division (警察庁暴力団対策課長） also makes very clear and enlightening statements on the nature of the modern mafia. If you want to understand the recent crackdowns on the yakuza, this film is one of the most enlightening things out there.

There are still some yakuza groups that uphold a certain code of ethics and not every yakuza is an evil person. Some smaller well-run groups may actually keep street crime low in their areas and function more or less as cheap security services, like SECOM, but only better.  However, the unwritten rules and the established codes of the traditional yakuza are breaking down as power consolidates among the larger groups and the yakuza become “Goldman Sachs with guns.” People like Tadamasa Goto, who’s members attacked and killed civilians;  Men like Susumu Kajiyama who built billion dollar loan-sharking empires, while driving debtors into suicide, both made the general public (堅気・katagi) targets of extortion and violence.

They did this while recruiting some of the “ordinary citizens” into their ranks, corrupting civilian society as well.   共生者 (Kyoseisha) aka “cooperative entities” also represent the new yakuza—people who are willing to work with violent thugs as long as they can make a profit. They know it’s wrong and evil; they just don’t care. They are sociopaths. The new anti-crime laws in Tokyo are meant to target these entities, not the people who are victimized by the yakuza.

The only flaw in the documentary is that it does little coverage of organized crime infiltration of the money markets and FX trading.  However, if you want to understand the yakuza on a gut level, and the impact they can have on the lives of innocent Japanese citizens, consider this film: Yakuza 101: An introduction to modern Japanese organized crime. It is worth seeing.

In other words, if you pay protection money to the yakuza, or use them to facilitate your business affairs, you will be treated as a criminal. You may be warned once, your name released to the public, and fined or imprisoned, or all of the above, if you persist in doing business with the yakuza.

However, what is particularly vexing to the yakuza, is that any payments to the yakuza are criminalized. For example, if the yakuza are blackmailing you or extorting cash from you and you pay them off, you are no longer a victim–you are also a criminal under the new laws. Thus, for most people the benefits of throwing yen at the yakuza to keep them quiet start to fade. Blackmail/extortion is a huge money maker for the mob in Japan. Roughly 45% of all people arrested for the crime (恐喝/kyokatsu) in Japan are yakuza members (circa 2010).  Hush money is big business but only when people will pay you to hush up. When they start going to the police as soon as you try to shake them down, the business model falls apart.

The Yakuza aka Boryokudan (Violent Groups) Exclusionary Ordinances Are Now Nationwide in Japan.

A retired police detective explains the law very simply, “The new laws will make the price of paying off the yakuza, in loss of face and in penalties, much more expensive than the actual cash payments to the yakuza.  It highly incentives firms not to cooperate or collude with organized crime, much as the revisions to the commerce law in December 1997, made it unacceptable for large listed companies to pay off sokaiya (総会屋) aka racketeers. After a few major company executives were arrested along with the bad guys for (利益供与/riekikyo) the pay-offs drastically declined, as did the number of sokaiya.”

The price for being publicly linked to the yakuza are not only public humiliation, increased police scrutiny, and possible punishment, but for businesses it can mean a huge loss of revenue, cash flow problems when banks refuse to loan money, revocation of licenses, and possible termination of rental agreements for office space. For any small business, being outed as a yakuza front company is more than likely to result in bankruptcy or eviction. On an individual level, it means being fired or forced to resign from your occupation, as was the case of popular comedian and TV host, Shimda Shinsuke in August.

The new ordinances do not have exclusions for foreign firms. They obligate all companies operating within Tokyo to follow the ordinance and to insert organized crime exclusionary clauses into their contracts, and make an effort not to do business with the yakuza and/or other anti-social forces. The Tokyo ordinance is unusual in that it includes, a “do tell, and we won’t ask” escape clause. If you go to the police, before they come to you,  and tell them that you have been working with the yakuza,  the police will exempt you from the ordinance and help you sever relations. (*Unless you have been using the yakuza to threaten people).

 The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has assembled a cross-divisional team of over 100 officers to put the new laws into effect. As one police source puts it, “There’s only one daimon (coat of arms) that’s allowed in the Tokyo now. That’s the sakurada-mon.*“

Prior to the law going into effect, in July of this year, President Obama, in an executive order, declared the yakuza a threat to the national security of United States and the world, and authorized seizure and freezing of any related assets in the US. Both at home and abroad, times are getting tough for the yakuza.The autumn of the yakuza in Japan, starts today, on October 1^st. A cold winter is on the way. There is growing pressure to remove the yakuza from Japanese society. They are unlikely to quietly walk away with a whimper but rather they will leave with a bang. It remains to be seen how ready Japan is for that recoil.

*Memo: A reference to the Tokyo Metro Police coat of arms, 桜田紋 (sakurada-mon). All yakuza groups have a coat of arms or crest –daimon: 代紋–that represents the group. The Yamaguchi-gumi coat of arms aka daimon is often called, hishi-gata because of its shape. Organized crime cops in Tokyo, because of their similarity in appearance to the yakuza they arrest, sometimes jokingly refer to the flower-symbol of the TMPD, as their own daimon (代紋). Sakurada literally means, “field of cherry blossoms.” Sakuradamon is also the name of the closest subway station to the TMPD Headquarters.

The curriculum includes ways of dealing with yakuza confrontations (for example, what to do when approached in the workplace by a yakuza demanding to be payed off), a run-down of how the yakuza make money (through drug smuggling, loan sharking and other illegal activities) and general advice on how not to get entangled in a gang.

Of the 69,000 students who had taken the class before June of this year, 24,000 were asked to participate in a survey. According to the results, 40% had some yakuza presence in their lives. 2% had reported they were even invited to join a gang. 97% of students reported that the classes were easy to understand, and that “they now understood the truth about the yakuza.”

In the space allocated for comments, some reported that there were shootings near their house, and that they were afraid of being hit by a stray bullet.

Seven teachers have a special license to teach the class. They plan to visit 545 public and private schools at least once by March of next year.

Jake’s note

In terms of eradicating the yakuza from general society, Fukuoka Prefecture is highly progressive. In March of 2010, convenience stores in Fukuoka prefecture, at the request of the police, stopped selling and handling yakuza fan magazines.

It’s probably the beginning of the end for the fanzines. Without their use as recruitment tools and propaganda for organized crime, the Japanese public’s attitudes towards them may begin to change as well. On several fronts Fukuoka is thinking ahead to create a society without yakuza, or at least one where it is difficult for them to recruit young blood.

In addition to the anti-yakuza curriculum they have created, the Fukuoka Prefectural Police Department, working in conjunction with the Centers to Eliminate Organized Crime, produced a realistic depiction of yakuza life in their educational film 許されざる者 (“The Unforgivable”). The film is a surprisingly accurate portrayal of yakuza life, the merits and demerits of the life.

In this scene, an errant yakuza is beaten to a pulp, while the text explains that modern laws forbid yakuza to force members who want to quit to chop off their pinkies and or/ interfere with the resignation.

Yakuza cops play all the yakuza in the film, which gives the film a surprising amount of intensity. In many ways, its one of the best yakuza films in recent years.

The police will rent it to anyone who’d like to see it.

For many years, the Azabu and Daikanyama areas were considered off-limits to the drug squads because of the high-end clientele. In a sense, there was a tacit understanding that recreational drug use amongst the wealthy was different than that of the low-life meth users. The distinction appears to no longer being made.

If you’re a clubber, be prepared to run into a drug raid sooner or later. Avoid doing heavy drugs and make sure to carry your gaijin card with you when you go. One young man who was caught in a recent raid shared his experiences with us:

Around 2:50am on Monday, July 18, Saloon nightclub in Daikanyama was raided by the Harajuku police. Saloon is a small club in the basement of larger club UNIT, located down the street from JR Ebisu Station.

That night Saloon was hosting a Freebase party, a minimal techno event held every few months. Freebase was a typical club event: people dancing, drinking and socializing. DJ Yoshida had begun his set at 2:30. About 20 minutes later a few large Japanese men entered the club and descended the stairs. At first I noticed that they didn’t look like typical clubbers: they wore simple, casual clothes and had a rough demeanor. It was possible they were salary men who were coming to enjoy a rare Sunday night party on the three-day weekend. But more and more of them came down the stairs and the police badges around their necks stood out. Approximately 15 police had rushed into the club. The music was shut down and the lights turned on. A large, authoritative officer shouted aggressively that they were going to search for drugs and that people should cooperate. He said that if people had drugs they should cooperate, and that if you knew anything about it, you should tell them immediately. He kept repeating “Yakubutsu?” (As in, “Yakubutsu motteiru no ka?” Are you carrying drugs?).

By then it was clear to everyone that it was a real raid and many of the Japanese responded shockingly with “Eeeehhhhh!?” The officers then put on latex gloves and asked to search everyone and their bags. An officer politely asked me in English if he could search my belongings. He searched every part of my bag and all of my pockets. Everyone around me was searched. A woman nearby was so thoroughly searched that even the inside of her boots were examined. A few Japanese clubbers were taken out alone, apparently arrested but not handcuffed.

Nothing was found on my friends and I, but the officers told us that we would have to go to the police station. We asked why, and one replied that we needed to have a urine test to check for drugs. My friend whispered to me that urine tests seem illegal without an arrest. But we both agreed that refusing to be tested could be considered “obstructing justice”. We tried looking through our cellphone contacts for anyone we could call asking for guidance, but the officer told us not to use our phones during the search.

Our group of foreigners and Japanese were lead outside to waiting police cars. The minivan that we traveled in was unmarked. Once we arrived at the Meguro police station, we were lead into a large room with wooden tables. They separated us into groups of twos and threes and had us sit separately. Two translators were provided for the foreigners.

The officers asked to see our alien registration cards, which were photocopied, and our basic information like jobs and addresses written in profiles. They brought out plastic containers for the urine samples, and small sealed bags that read “MDMA Test.” One by one we were taken to the bathroom to do urine tests. Two officers accompanied each person. One explained the intricate process; the other took photos of each step. First, the container and lid had to be rinsed in the sink. Then the container had to held up, facing down. Then the officer photographed the person urinating (only the men in the group). And then the closed container had to be rinsed again and held up – also photographed.
When one person returned with the samples an officer sat down with him/her and began the test. The MDMA Test kit resembled a pregnancy test. Seven drops of urine were taken from the container and dropped onto a small paper slit in the kit. After 7 minutes, it was explained; small coloured bars would show up on the paper. 4 bars indicated a negative result. 2 bars indicated a positive test for stimulants. All of our results revealed 4 bars: negative.

They then gave us three sheets to fill out, sign and fingerprint, and my friend asked one of the officers to read it aloud and explain the kanji meanings. One of the forms was to verify that we had taken the test and knew its purpose, another one was to waive ownership of our urine–we were basically giving it to the police–and it asked us to write a reason so we all wrote “Iranai” – I don’t need it. The last one said that we had taken a test and that there was not a positive result. Not wanting to be there all day, we signed them. After that they said that they would send our samples to the lab and would contact us if they found anything.

It was stressful and frightening to be held without charge, urine-tested and questioned. In most Western countries, I think this procedure would be of dubious legality. But despite the unpleasantness the police officers were polite and even made jokes. One officer was amused at the word “pee” and wondered how it was connected to “urine”. An older officer asked me point blank, “Did you do drugs at Saloon? How many times have you been to the club? Have you ever seen drugs being sold or taken there? Why did you go there and who invited you?” But his manner was less confrontational than curious.

My friend didn’t have to urinate when we arrived at the station, so he did the test last. He asked if he could have some water to speed things up. The officers said no, “Komaru koto”, that’s troublesome–it would mess with the results of the test. My friend shrugged. Over the course of the next hour the officer kept asking if he could urinate yet. “Sumimasen, mada dekimasen.” Sorry, I can’t go yet, he replied. At one point the officer asked in English, “Do you have some special reason why?” implying he had something to hide.

The officers finally let my friend have some water. As one handed him a cup he asked him to rinse it out first, and added in broken English, smiling, “Don’t worry, we didn’t put any drugs in the cup.” He drank several cups of tap water. Shortly after, nature called. He gave the urine sample, was tested, and his result was negative.

Before we could leave the police took individual photos of us. After that an officer saw us out of the building, and said “Thank you” in English. We walked out into the sunny Tokyo morning, just in time to catch the first train.

I have been clubbing in Japan since 2005 and the other night at Saloon was the first time I’ve ever experienced a raid, or even seen a cop at a club. Was the raid a fluke or the sign of a larger scale crackdown?

The answer is that the raid is part of a larger crackdown. Drug use among Japanese celebrities has certainly risen within the last year and there is fear amongst the Japanese police that allowing the situation to go unchecked will make drug abuse a socially acceptable or even “cool” phenomenon. There has also been a corresponding police crackdown on unlicensed hostess clubs in the area . Any club is operating past midnight that is technically against the law.

The other major problem is that the building where many clubs are located are now under the protection of the Kanto Rengo-kai (関東連合会). They are a loosely bound federation of youth gangs in Tokyo that are extremely violent, adept at blackmail and extortion but yet don’t meet the criteria to be “a designated crime group” thus evading many of the laws that have been created to crack down on organized crime. The faction of Kanto Rengo in charge of the Daikanyama are is allegedly Miyamae-gurentai (宮前愚連隊). In the past they had the backing of the Sumiyoshikai, but recently have become increasingly independent and almost hostile towards their backers. According to TMPD sources, in the attack on the Kabuki actor, Ebizono, it was the Sumiyoshi-kai that actually tipped the TMPD 1st Investigative Division off as to where Ito Lion (the assailant) could be found.

The police are increasingly having trouble with the Kanto Rengokai (関東連合会) which has taken over most drug distribution in Tokyo. The organization is not vertical and more like a networked number of crime groups. There is no top dog that could take down the organization. The group currently has over 5,000 affiliated members. Not only are they selling drugs, they are moving the marketing of synthetic drugs that do not violate current Japanese law.

The drug raids are a part of the TMPD plan to deprive the Kanto Rengokai of revenue and reduce their influence. Doing drugs in Japan, because of the severe criminal penalties is never a good idea, but these days it’s an extremely bad idea.

The Yamaguchi-gumi Kodokai, is the ruling faction of Japan’s largest organized crime group, the Yamaguchi-gumi, which has 39,000 members. The Kodo-kai has between 3,000-4,000 members. The Kodo-kai Komatsu-gumi is their representative faction in Tokyo controlling several front companies (construction, real estate, investments) in the Kanto area.

In March, the Tokyo District court, ruled on the the complaints of 170 citizens and concerned parties living near the Komatsu-gumi office headquarters, finding that, “There is always a possibility that a gang war will break out in the vicinity of a yakuza office, and that this could endanger the life and safety of the inhabitants,” and ruled that the office was to be banned from being used. It has remained empty ever since.

The head of the Komatsu-gumi filed an objection in response to this asking for the temporary restraining order (使用禁止の仮処分）be put on hold, asserting that he would have no place to live. The Komatsu-gumi office is located in a business and residential building. The court ruled that in order to ensure that the gang boss did not use the residence as a yakuza office, “limiting the freedom of the Komatsu-gumi-cho (the leader of the gang) as to where he moves to and where he can live, is simply unavoidable.”

The story so far: Needing a new kidney, doctor Toshinobu Horiuchi initially paid Sumiyoshi-kai member Kazuhisa Takino 10 million yen to find a donor, with plans to have the surgery last June at Sakamoto Chuo General Hospital in Tokyo. When the yakuza asked for more money, however, Horiuchi couldn’t deliver, and he was forced to cancel the surgery. The doctor then went to his long-time friend, Sakamaki, and asked him to not only mediate the dispute but to also find a new donor. Horiuchi paid an additional 9 million yen–1 million yen as a show of gratitude to Sakamaki, 1 million as “transportation money” to the negotiator, and 7 million in reparations to Takino. In the end the negotiations fell through, and the 7 million yen was returned to Horiuchi.

Not to be defeated when his life is at stake, Horiuchi then asked Sakamaki to find another donor. Through the medical consulting company he operates, Sakamaki found a young man who was several thousands of yen in debt to an employee, and arranged to have the debt erased if the man became a kidney donor. Police say the man, 21-year-old Tatsuya Ishikawa, had been promised 1 million yen for the kidney as a means of writing off his debt.

Additionally, Horiuchi reportedly paid Sakamaki 8 million yen in gratitude for the organ, and police believe a portion of the money was sent to the Sumiyoshi-kai headquarters. Police are trying to discover where Horiuchi got all the cash from.

Police recently revealed that Tokushukai Group, who operate the hospital, had actually consulted Sakamaki after hecame to them saying his friend needed and organ transplant and he was looking for a recommendation. Sakamaki had known the director of the group for around 14 years and the director knew of his yakuza affiliation for around two to three years. Sakamaki himself had received a recommendation for a hospital four years earlier when he began to have heart problems. The staff member who consulted Sakamaki reportedly did not know he was a member of the yakuza.

The director of the group says they were only out to help a patient in trouble. Shuichiro Matsumoto, the doctor who performed the surgery on the donor, claims no knowledge of the organ being illegally obtained, but Horiuchi’s wife has testified that they told him what was happening, and paid him 300,000 yen to keep quiet.

The whereabouts of the kidney donor, Tatsuya Ishikawa, are as of yet unknown. In order to comply with ethics guidelines set down by The Japan Society for Transplantation, which state live donors must be family members, Horiuchi and his wife adopted Ishikawa in June of last year, before his kidney was removed.  At the hospital, Horiuchi told doctors Ishikawa was just like his real son, and Ishikawa submitted a written letter saying Horiuchi had looked after him just like a natural father would. Police say, however, Horiuchi’s wife had said to her husband of Ishikawa, “After the surgery, he’s got nothing to do with us.” The transplant was a success, but afterwards Ishikawa reportedly disappeared, leaving Horiuchi’s home and ceasing communications with Sakamaki. It’s believed the man received almost none of the promised money.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is tightening up their investigation of former mob boss Goto Tadasmasa on charges of murder. Goto Tadamasa was the head of the Yamaguchi-gumi Goto-gumi (山口組後藤組）until October 14th 2008, when he was forced out of Japan’s largest criminal organization, the Yamaguchi-gumi, which has 39,000 members. In his prime, he controlled over a thousand gangsters and affiliates, one hundred front companies and assets of over a billion dollars. However, his back-door deal with the FBI to get a liver transplant at UCLA, along with liver transplants for three other yakuza, his insubordination, and his habit of condoning and/or ordering attacks on innocent civilians resulted in the organization council deciding to force him into retirement.

In December of 2010, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police (TMPD) arrested a former member of the Yamaguchi-gumi Goto-gumi (Nobuyuki Yamamoto) for killing a real estate consultant,  Kazuoki Nozaki,  in a dispute over a valuable  building in Shibuya ward. The murder took place in 2006. A Goto-gumi front company was laying claim to the building and Nozaki-san was an obstacle in their plans. He was stabbed to death on the streets of Minato-ward. Yamamoto has denied receiving direct orders from Goto Tadamasa, his former gang-boss. An international arrest warrant for the superior of Nobuyuki Yamamoto was issued after Yamamoto’s arrest, a man known as Kondo Takashi (近藤毅) also a former Goto-gumi member. The TMPD felt they had a strong case on circumstantial evidence alone that Goto had ordered the hit but no direct testimony from someone receiving orders. Kondo, they felt, was the key to making their case.

Nobuyuki Yamamoto was convicted of murder on May 14th and sentenced to 13 years of hard labor, as requested by the prosecutor. The judged at sentencing noted, “It was an outrageous killing of an ordinary citizen.” According to the ruling, Yamamoto, who was a member of the Goto-gumi and under Goto’s supervision at the time of the crime, working with another Goto-gumi member Kondo Takashi (under international arrest warrant for the same murder), plotted together and on the evening of March 5th, 2006, they stabbed Mr. Nozaki to death on the streets of Minato-ward Aoyama area.

Kondo is unilikely to be prosecuted since he was assassinated in April before he could talk. 死人に口なし: Dead men have no mouths. (Harlan Ellison would appreciate this saying.)

on April 27th,  2011, a Thai tour guide was arrested after he confessed to shooting to death one Japanese tourist and wounding another while they were trekking in northern Thailand. The two “tourists” are former yakuza members.

Apichart Inphisak, the 41-year-old guide, was arrested Tuesday at a friend’s house 30 kilometers from Chiang Rai. The pistol he said he used to shoot the two Japanese was confiscated, according to local Thai press sources. Japanese police sources assert that the two Japanese individuals were both members of the Yamaguchi-gumi Goto-gumi. One of the individuals is believed to have involved in the murder of real estate agent, Nozaki Kazuoki, in 2006.

On conditions of anonymity, Japanese police sources said, “It’s clear that the two were assassinated on orders of former members of the Goto-gumi, possibly Goto himself. This makes prosecuting the case or taking it all the way up to the top extremely difficult.” The Thai English Newspaper, the Nation reported one of the victims as being “Takashi Kodo,  age 44,  of the Sedu-kai gang in Tokyo”. In all likelihood, it is probably Kondo Takashi (近藤毅）of the Yamaguchi-gumi Yamaken-gumi Seiryukai. (山口組山健組誠竜会）which has 120 members. The Goto-gumi was closely tied to the Yamaken-gumi in the past. Other law enforcement sources place him as having been in the Yamaguchi-gumi Rachi-gumi Seiryukai (山口組良知組政竜会). Kondo was lured to Thailand from China where he had been in hiding. He allegedly was promised via a  Goto emissary a new passport, a reward for keeping quiet, and a new life. He just ended up very dead. Police have confirmed that Kondo was the man killed. Local sources also note that the gun brought in by the Thai guide and the caliber of the bullet shot into Kondo don’t match. Further details are unavailable.

Earlier last month, the TMPD sent police officers to Thailand inquire into the death of Kondo and positively identify the body. The TMPD believe that Kondo may have been  killed on Goto’s orders. The Tokyo Prosecutor’s Office is reconsidering charging Goto with murder based on circumstantial evidence alone and possibly newer evidence as well.  Goto Tadamasa renounced his life of crime and became a Buddhist priest in 2009, and has been doing charitable acts. It may not be enough however to escape a lifetime of bad karma in the metaphysical world or justice in this world. Police sources note that Goto has been associating with a senior boss of the Kyushu Seido-kai (九州誠道会）and could possible be considering a return to organized crime.

Goto’s  biography, 憚りながら (Habakarinagara), was issued last year by Takarajima Publications last year and was a huge best-seller. In the book, Goto brags of his political connections and shows no remorse for the attacks his own gang members made on the film director Itami Juzo in 1992. Itami had made a movie, The Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion, depicting the yakuza as a cancer on society and this had offended Goto. In the book Goto denied ordering the director to be attacked but praised the guts and initiative of his underlings who slashed up the face of the film director.  Former Goto-gumi members also assert that Goto was responsible for later having the director killed, by forcing him to jump off a roof-top at gun-point as to make it appear as if he committed suicide.  Itami’s wife is still under police protection. Whether Goto will be arrested for the murder of Mr. Nozaki or Mr. Kondo is an unknown. What is definitely known is that he is a major suspect in both murders. He was kind enough to also mention me in the book with an implied death threat, punctuated by a note that he was laughing while saying it, making it hard to prosecute as a threat.

On June 16th, rough 8:40 am, someone fired a shotgun into the construction schedule sign posted at the building mentioned above. The police are investigating on weapons violations charges. Law enforcement believes that Goto would not likely shoot up what is now his own property and that it may be a sign of anger from other Yamaguchi-gumi members for orchestrating the death of his former subordinate–if he did so.

Japan’s Third Largest Crime Group, The Inagawa-kai (稲川会）splits into two faction; Gang war looms

The main members of the the Inagawa-kai Yamanashi-ikka, located in Kofu city,  split apart from the parent organization the Inagawa-kai  at the end of May and formed their own independent organization the Yamanashi Kyoyukai (山梨侠友会) creating chaos within the yakuza world. The Inagawa-kai has split into factions in the past over succession issues, but this split appears to also be a deeper rift than any previous one. The Inagawa-kai was once the most powerful crime group in the Kanto area. Goto Tadamasa, former gang boss, also got his start in the Inagawa-kai before jumping ship to the rising Yamaguchi-gumi. He was also involved in trying to arrange a liver transplant for Inagawa-leader, Inagawa Chihiro, at UCLA. The deal fell apart when Goto reneged on his promises to the FBI to give them all the information he promised.

The “rebel faction” left after complaining that the current  Inagawa-kai ruling commission has no respect for gang tradition and has failed to honor the ancestors of the organization. The current leadership of the Inagawa-kai is backed by the Yamaguchi-gumi Kodokai (山口組弘道会). However, it is not clear whether the Kodo-kai is now backing the current leaders or the rebel faction. The newly formed Yamanashi Kyoyukai emblem greatly resembles the crest of the Yamaguchi-gumi.

The Yamanashi Kyoyukai formerly part of the Inagawa-kai. Their new symbol mirrors that of the Yamaguchi-gumi crest.

The Yamanashi-ikka was very strong locally and in some senses the new independent organization has the sanction of the Yamanashi Prefecture Police Department. The Yamanashi PD have surrounded the offices of the Yamanashi Kyoukai to prevent any gang attacks from the Inagawa-kai or their allies which would put the Yamanashi Kyoyukai back under Inagawa-kai control. In fact, in order to ensure there is no bloodshed, the Yamanashi Police Department is asking the rebel gangsters to stay inside their compound and on at least one occasion, they even took food orders from the gang members and brought them box lunches. (Which the gangsters paid for).

The back-stabbing and violence associated with gang factional splits rivals that of anything seen in movies, like Kitano’s OUTRAGE. At this point in time, no blood has been spilled, but there are unconfirmed reports of hands grenades being thrown and armed gangsters sent from Tokyo hiding out in Kofu City, ready to cap a few members of the Yamanashi Kyoyukai. Unfortunately for them, outside gangsters are not as welcome as the local boys. No casualties have been reported yet. But it is hard to imagine that any yakuza group can sever ties without some blood spilling. The Yamanashi Police have put a protective guard around the splinter group and have strongly discouraged “outsiders” from retaking over the organization. Support your local yakuza seems to be the operating idea. It makes sense, if you understand the philosophy “better the enemy you known than the one you don’t know.”  All the splinter group members have been ex-communicated from the Inagawa-kai.

For more on the story, see The Japan Times coverage of the events. The doctor in question, arrested for violations of the organ transplant laws did offer ¥10 million to a Sumiyoshi-kai crime syndicate member Kazuhisa Takino, 50, to find a prospective donor. The deal fell through but the good doctor was able to find a living donor for a partial transplant elsewhere. However, since the transplant, the donor in question has been reported as missing.

Police sources suggest that the case may turn into a homicide investigation. Japan has very restrictive laws related to organ donation and only a small number of people manage to receive organ transplants in Japan. In some cases, yakuza with enough money have been able to receive liver transplants at UCLA, in fact, four of them but that’s another story altogether. For more insights into the problems in in Japan which allow yakuza to muscle into the medical care business,  please see this post on the history of organ donations in Japan.

Of the four gangster that received liver transplants at UCLA, two of them used Japan’s adoption system to become “adopted” by other families, changing their names and thus avoiding detection by the US authorities when they came into the United States. The adoption system in Japan has been and continues to be a convenient means of changing identity for mobsters and con artists.

While we’re on the subject, while the liver transplants at UCLA received by the four mobsters, were ostensibly paid for with money gained from illegal enterprises, which could technically make the patients and the hospital guilty of money laundering, there was never an investigation into where the money came from that was paid to UCLA. In Japan, I suppose, it is harder for mobsters to obtain organs than it is in the United States. It appears that the police are doing their job on this one.