HYOGO (TR) – The recently troubled Yamaguchi-gumi organized crime group on Wednesday revealed that it will not hold its special Halloween event later this month, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Oct. 21).
A message posted outside the gang’s headquarters in Kobe’s Nada Ward said that the annual event in which candy is provided to children will be suspended “due to various circumstances.”
The Yamaguchi-gumi, which is Japan’s largest organized crime group, split last month. Law enforcement has since raided the headquarters of a number of its affiliate gangs and those of its newly formed rival gang, the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi. Police have been concerned that violence will erupt between the two gangs.
An investigator with the Hyogo Prefectural Police indicated that the cancellation of the event was connected to the split of the gang. “Given the circumstances after the split, there was a consideration about children being at risk in the event of a conflict,” the investigator said.
