Press "Enter" to skip to content

Kudo-kai top-3 bosses arrested in 2013 stabbing of nurse

The Kudo-kai's top bosses Fumio Tanoue and Satoru Nomura
Fumio Tanoue and Satoru Nomura

FUKUOKA (TR) – As a part of a continuing crackdown on the Kudo-kai organized crime group, Fukuoka Prefectural Police on Wednesday announced the arrest of the gang’s top-three bosses for participation in the stabbing of a woman last year, reports the Mainichi Shibun (Oct. 1).

Officers took number-three boss Keigo Kikuchi, 42, into custody and re-arrested top bosses Satoru Nomura, 67, and Fumio Tanoue, 58, on charges of systematic attempted murder.

At around 7:00 p.m. on January 28 of last year, the woman, 45, was approached from behind on a walkway in Fukuoka’s Hakata Ward and stabbed in the head and chest by an unknown assailant.

According to police, the order to commit the crime is believed to have been given by Nomura, who had engaged in a dispute with the woman while receiving treatment at a clinic in Kitakyushu, Kokurakita Ward where she worked as a nurse.

Police also arrested six other members of the gang, which is based in Kitakyushu, on the same charges, while another seven members have been issued arrest warrants.

“The Kudo-kai is receiving a blow to its system,” said police chief Masato Higuchi at a press conference after the arrests.

In September, police also arrested Nomura and Tanoue for the alleged participation in the murder of a fishery cooperative president in Kitakyushu in 1998.

A 45-year-old nurse was stabbed in Hakata Ward in January of last year
A 45-year-old nurse was stabbed in Hakata Ward in January of last year

Both Nomura and Tanoue are originally from the Tanaka-gumi organized crime group, a Kudo-kai affiliate which Kikuchi serves as top boss. Of the 13 other suspects, only one is not a member of the Tanaka-gumi. Police suspect members of the Tanaka-gumi have played a central role in a number of violent attacks of civilians.

Kudo-kai members are also believed to have been responsible for successive shooting incidents targeting businesses in Fukuoka since 2006.

Following the enactment of anti-gang legislation in Fukuoka in 2010, Kudo-kai members have likely participated in systematic stabbings and arson attacks.