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Police target current, former Yamaguchi-gumi gangs

Officers enter the headquarters of the Tsukasa Kogyo in Osaka
Officers enter the headquarters of the Kishimoto-gumi in Kobe

HYOGO (TR) – Following a recent shakeup in Japan’s criminal underworld, law enforcement on Friday continued its crackdown on organized crime groups formerly and currently connected to the Yamaguchi-gumi, reports TBS News (Sep. 25).

Approximately 50 officers from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police entered the offices of the Kishimoto-gumi, located in Kobe, in search of evidence related to the extortion of 900,000 yen from a man in June of last year.

On September 1, the Kobe-based Yamaguchi-gumi chose to break up by excommunicating 13 affiliate gangs. The Kishimoto-gumi is among the 59 gangs that remained.

Meanwhile, about 60 officers raided the offices of the Takumi-gumi, located in the Minami entertainment area of Osaka, in search of evidence connected to a stimulant drugs case. In Kobe, Hyogo police searched the offices of the Kenryu-kai, an affiliate of the Yamaken-gumi, in connection with an introductory fee paid to an upper member of the gang by a commercial sex business, reports TBS News (Sep. 25).

Both the Takumi-gumi and the Yamaken-gumi were among the 13 excommunicated gangs.

The Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, which is comprised of 14 gangs, formed four days after the dissolution. Of the gang’s 3,000 members, approximately 2,000 are from the Yamaken-gumi. The Takumi-gumi is also a member.

The ongoing raids are in preparation for a possible conflict between the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi and the Yamaguchi-gumi, which is Japan’s largest organized crime group.

The Nagoya-based Tsukasa Kogyo, which also remains within the Yamaguchi-gumi, was raided last week. The organization was founded by Shinobu Tsukasa, the Yamaguchi-gumi’s top boss.

The headquarters of the Yamaken-gumi has already been searched on two occasions this month.