Yakuza gang war in Tokyo on the horizon?
Well, it looks like a gang war for control of certain areas of Tokyo may be on the brink, after 3 shooting incidents took place in the city throughout Monday and into Tuesday morning. At around 10am on Monday, a Mr Ryoichi Sugiura, a high ranking gang member affiliated to the Sumiyoshi-kai was shot and killed in Minato-ku. This then sparked off a series of retaliatory attacks. Barely an hour later, shots were fired into an office affiliated with the notorious Yamaguchi-gumi. This was a couple of kilometres from the first murder. Then, just before dawn on Tuesday morning, 4 shots were fired into the apartment of a person believed to have strong links to the Yamaguchi-gumi in Toshima-ku. In addition to all of that, bullet marks were found in the door of a building previously occupied by a Yamaguchi-gumi affiliate in Shibuya-ku on Tuesday morning. Most of those details are taken from the Mainichi news article. 2 gangsters have been arrested for the latter attack, and both are affiliated with the Sumiyoshi-kai. Interestingly, the have both been charged under the Firearms and Swords Control Law… does anyone know of another country where the firearm and sword law is fixed?!
The police in Tokyo have since tightened security around both Sumiyoshi-kai and Yamaguchi-gumi locations throughout the Kanto region, amid fears that these shootings could turn into an all-out war over territory between the 2 groups. I’m sure most of your readers have probably never heard of those 2 organisations, so maybe a little introduction is needed. Firstly, they are both yakuza organisations. The Yakuza in Japan are members of organised crime syndicates (think mafia or The Godfather), and they are very visible in society. Even in Okinawa, they are easy to stop (if you go 1 block west of highway 58 in Naha then you’re in the red light district and definite yakuza territory). Black suits, waistcoats, sunglasses and mobile phones or earpieces at the ready, these guys are always ready for business. Interestingly enough, the work “yakuza” comes from a Japanese card game, and literally means, “good for nothing”. Contrary to most organised crime syndicates, the yakuza don’t extort money from small local-run businesses on the whole; rather they prey on large corporations (an act known as soukaiya). They do this by becoming small stock holders and then blackmailing the companies about scandals they could uncover. It is still known in some practices for payoffs to the yakuza to be announced in the company’s financial reports.
Another thing that can signify a yakuza member is a huge number of tattoos. Or, more accurately, a single tattoo covering almost their entire body. These tattoos are usually very intricate, and from what I can imagine, both very time-consuming and very painful to make. But they are an integral part of the yakuza image. Another sign of a current or former Yakuza member is the half-missing little finger. The first time a yakuza member makes a mistake, the tip of their little finger is cut off. The origin of this practice is very interesting, and I quote from Wikipedia: “Its origin stems from the traditional way of holding a Japanese sword. The bottom three fingers of each hand are used to grip the sword tightly, with the thumb and index fingers slightly loose. The removal of digits starting with the little finger moving up the hand to the index finger progressively weakens a person’s sword grip. The idea is that a person with a weak sword grip then has to rely more on the group for protection - reducing individual action”.
The biggest crime syndicate in Japan (and reportedly the world) is known as the Yamaguchi-gumi. This group, with its headquarters in Kobe, has around 39,000 active members throughout Japan, Asia and even the US. Police crackdowns have taken place on the Yamaguchi-gumi (as they have on all of the yakuza groups, but their numbers are swelling. Indeed, the Yamaguchi-gumi are also making inroads into new territory, namely Tokyo (which goes back to the start of this article). They have a turnover of billions of dollars each year, made through extortion, gambling, the sex industry, real estate and even stock market manipulation (what are known as the economic yakuza). Started in 1915 (or thereabouts) and led by Harukichi Yamaguchi, it wasn’t until after WWII that its numbers started to expand greatly. The current leader, or kumicho is called Shinobu Tsukasa (real name: Kenichi Shinoda). He has been the leader since 2005, but was imprisoned at the end of that year for a 6-year sentence due to possession of an illegal firearm. Even after his imprisonment he has led the Yamaguchi-gumi and started their expansion into Tokyo by absorbing the Kokusai-kai.
In second place behind the Yamaguchi-gumi is the Sumiyoshi-kai, with around 10,000 members. Led by Shigeo Nishiguchi, this syndicate is a federation of groups and so has a much looser hierarchy (put simply, although Nishiguchi is the boss, he does share powers with other high ranking members of the organisation. The Sumiyoshi-kai has had a turbulent history, having been disbanded and reformed a couple of times since it’s creation in 1958. There’s not too much information available on this group in English, so I apologise for only an outline of information about them.
The thing about the yakuza groups (from my experience) is that if you go about your business as a normal person then they won’t bother you at all. Even a foreigner in the middle of yakuza territory will get little attention if they’re just going on their way. I’ve wandered to a bar in the west-side of Naha before, where the yakuza staff are trying to get all the businessmen to go into their “snack bars” and not a single person came near me. Maybe I just strike fear (or more likely, bemusement) into them all! And everyone automatically thinks that everything the yakuza groups do is bad, but I have heard things to the contrary. Take, for example, the aftermath of the Great Hanshin Earthquake in Kobe back in 1995. The local government just couldn’t keep up with demand for medical treatment due to their structural lifelines having been crushed. In this instance, the Yamaguchi-gumi stepped in to organise and assist in distributing food and supplies to those who needed it most.
Well hopefully that’s given you a little idea about what’s happening in Tokyo regarding the yakuza gangs, and a little about the gangs themselves. If there’s any more news on this subject, I’ll be sure to let you know. Until then, take care, dive safely, and look out for people with only half a little finger!
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Cool picture of a Yakuza tattoo, although the work in the crack must’ve been very painfull……………..
Intersting article though.
Seems like something’s about to hit the fan, if they’re attacking the biggest organisation, the Yamaguchi-gumi.
Yeah - it’s a pretty impressive tattoo. Although I have to admit I didn’t take it! I may be crazy, but I’m not crazy enough to ask a gang member to strip off so I can take a picture of his tattoo!
Very smart Dave.
These tattoos are very impressive indeed and a handmade Japanese tattoo is still on my list of things to do.
In einer Welt des Zwischenraums findet die Ehre alles, was uns als Bedrohung implantiert wird. Eindeutigkeit ist das letzte Recht des Lebens. Die Entscheidung.
Wir leben keinen Import-Kodex der Japaner, aber verstehen uns als Verbindung.
Diese spürt auf und entlarvt. Wir sind stärker als die Angst vor dem erlösenden Tot.
Tradition und Wertgefühl, sowie Ehre und Fürsorge dürfen nie geopfert werden.
YamaguchimuttiGumi666
Headquarter Hamburg