Press "Enter" to skip to content

Inagawa-kai affiliate found dead in Yamanashi as gang war continues

An upper member of the Yamanashi Kyoyu-kai was  shot in the riverbed of the Arakawa River in November
An upper member of the Yamanashi Kyoyu-kai was shot in the riverbed of the Arakawa River in November
TOKYO (TR) – Following a number of shooting incidents between rival gangs in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, officers on Monday discovered the body of a yakuza member in what has been initially ruled a suicide, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 26).

At approximately 9:55 a.m., investigators from the Kofu Police station discovered the blood-soaked body of the 63-year-old president of the Yamanashi-ikka, an affiliate gang to the Inagawa-kai, inside a one-room apartment in the Tokugyo district. A pistol was also found at the scene.

Police believe the incident is related to an ongoing gangland war between the Yamanashi-ikka and the Yamanashi Kyoyu-kai organized crime group.

Later that afternoon, a resident in the Osatomachi area phoned police to report the sounds of gunshots. Officers arriving at the scene found multiple bullet holes in a vehicle parked in front of an apartment affiliated with the Inagawa-kai.

On the morning of March 20, discharges from a weapon were heard in the Tomitake Shinden area. At around noon, a police patrol car found three passenger cars affiliated with organized crime to have multiple bullet holes. Investigators believe the incident is connected to a traffic accident involving a Yamanashi Kyoyu-kai vehicle that occurred on March 10.

According to the Yomiuri (Mar. 21), there have been nine shooting incidents since last November, when an upper member of the Yamanashi Kyoyu-kai was seriously injured after being shot in the riverbed of the Arakawa River.

“It is regrettable that no arrests have been made,” a member of the anti-organized crime division of the prefectural police tells the Yomiuri. “In moving to destroy organized crime, the investigation will continue in earnest.”