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Kodo-kai chairman among 6 nabbed for extortion in Nagoya

Teruaki Takeuchi
Teruaki Takeuchi of the Kodo-kai (TV Asahi)

AICHI (TR) – Aichi Prefectural Police on Monday arrested the chairman of the key affiliate gang of the Yamaguchi-gumi and five others in the extortion of a restaurant in Nagoya’s Naka Ward, reports Jiji Press (Sept. 11).

Between December of last year and January, Teruaki Takeuchi, the chairman of the Kodo-kai, and five other persons allegedly received a total of 180,000 yen in payments termed mikajimeryo (“protection money”) and yojimbo-dai (“bodyguard fees”) from the manager of the restaurant.

The suspects have also been accused of extorting 400,000 yen from a commercial sex parlor in Nagoya in April.

Of the suspects, who have been accused of violating a prefectural anti-organized crime law, four are members of the Kodo-kai. Takeuchi denies the allegations. Four other suspects partially deny the accusations while the sixth suspect has declined to comment.

Co-founded by Shinobu Tsukasa

The Nagoya-based Kodo-kai was co-founded by Shinobu Tsukasa, the current head of the Yamaguchi-gumi, in 1984. According to police, the heart of Nagoya is a key area for the gang’s money-making operations. This arrests are part of an effort to sever funding for the gang, police said.