HYOGO (TR) – Precautions were taken by a newly formed splinter syndicate of the Yamaguchi-gumi and law enforcement prior to the gang’s first meeting in Amagasaki City on Sunday, reports the Sankei Shimbun (May 28).
At around 2:00 p.m., officers from the Hyogo Prefectural Police were gathered around the headquarters of the Ninkyo Dantai Yamaguchi-gumi, which formed late last month, as upper-level members entered.
The gang, headed by Yoshinori Oda, was also taking precautions. According to police, executives entering the building were strip-searched.
The tense mood is due to concerns about pending gang violence. The Ninkyo Dantai Yamaguchi-gumi is composed of defecting bosses from the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, which itself is a splinter gang.
In September of 2015, more than a dozen affiliate gangs of the Yamaguchi-gumi left to form the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi. Since that split, law enforcement had been taking measures to alleviate violence between the two gangs.
Since March of last year, when police proclaimed the syndicates to be in a “state of confrontation,” there have been 47 violent incidents, which have resulted in 30 arrests, according to Jiji Press (May 28).
Police have already recorded one incident involving the Ninkyo Dantai Yamaguchi-gumi. A member of the gang told police was jumped by several men after he emerged from a vehicle in Kobe’s Chuo Ward in the early morning hours of May 6. The gangster suffered minor injuries, including wounds to his head.
