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Ex-yakuza living in car leads to arrest of Yamaguchi-gumi executive

Shun Ogiwara
Shun Ogiwara of the Yamaguchi-gumi (TBS News)

TOKYO (TR) – Money, booze, drugs, women — the stereotypical life of a gangster can appear quite grand. Then reality gets in the way.

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 35-year-old organized crime member for allegedly threatening a then fellow gangster who refused to carry out an order and found himself living out of a car, reports TBS News (July 25).

In February, Shun Ogiwara, a 35-year-old executive member of the Yamaguchi-gumi based in Nagano Prefecture, allegedly threatened to kill a 33-year-old underling over the telephone after he failed to deliver a book to a colleague who was in prison. “If you are just joking around you’ll be killed,” Ogiwara reportedly threatened.

The suspect admits to the allegations, telling the Akishima Police Station that he screamed all kinds of things on the telephone.

Living in his car

After the incident, which took place in Nagano, the underling quit the gang. Thereafter, the suspect continued to berate him by telephone. Fearing for his safety, he fled the prefecture by car, according to TV Asahi (July 25).

Over a two-week period, the former gangster lived inside the vehicle at various locations in Tokyo. After being discovered by police, he revealed the alleged death threat to investigators.