EHIME (TR) – Ehime Prefectural Police have arrested an organized crime member in the stabbing death of a member of rival syndicate in Saijo City on Tuesday, reports TBS News (June 14).
At around 7:00 p.m., Okito Yokoi, a 75-year-old boss of an affiliate gang of the Yamaguchi-gumi, allegedly stabbed Mitsuhiro Oka, 52, several times in the abdomen on a road in the Kanbaiko area. Oka was confirmed dead shortly after arrival at a nearby hospital.
Yokoi has been charged with murder. The suspect has declined to comment on the allegations.
Oka, a 52-year-old resident of Niihama City, was a member of an affiliate gang of the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi. After the incident, police spoke with several members of the gang and subsequently took Yokoi in for voluntary questioning.
The Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi formed as a rival to the Yamaguchi-gumi in 2015. Since then, incidents of violence between involving the two gangs have taken place as they battle for turf across the nation.
According to police, the incident is being viewed as a personal dispute between the suspect and victim. However, prefectural police have established a special task force composed of 60 officers to investigate the matter in light of the ongoing feud between the two gangs.
