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Tokyo cops: Ex-bosozoku leader attempted to extort ramen shop

Sozo Nishimura
Sozo Nishimura

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have apprehended a former leader of a bosozku biker gang over the alleged attempted extortion of the manager of a ramen shop in Hachioji City, reports TBS News (Mar. 15).

Between April and June, Sozo Nishimura, a 36-year-old former leader of Uchikoshi Specter, allegedly demanded 30,000 yen per month in mikajimeryo — or protection money — from the 33-year-old manager. “It is simple to kill you,” the suspect reportedly said. “Hachioji is my territory.”

Nishimura, who has been charged with attempted extortion, has declined to comment on the charges.

In March, police accused Nishimura of assaulting an upper-level member of the Yamaguchi-gumi organized crime group during a brawl on a street in Tokyo’s Kabukicho red-light district on February 15.

Police are investigating the possibility that Nishimura has extorted several other restaurant managers in the past, according to TV Asahi (June 26).