EHIME (TR) – A 64-year-old yakuza executive has pleaded guilty at the Matsuyama District Court to fatally shooting a former gang associate at a Starbucks outlet in Shikokuchuo City earlier this year, claiming the gunfire was a spontaneous reaction, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Sep. 3).
Appearing for his first lay judge trial on Thursday, Yuichiro Maetani admitted to charges of murder and violating the Firearms and Swords Control Law. “There is no mistake,” he told the court.
In their opening statement, prosecutors revealed that Maetani and the victim, 49-year-old Yuichiro Ishikawa, were once members of the same crime syndicate.
The deadly dispute stems from an incident in 2022, when Ishikawa and others allegedly sparked a brawl at a local festival that Maetani had helped organize for many years. The two men had arranged to meet at the cafe on the day of the shooting to settle their differences.
The defense argued that Maetani brought the revolver strictly for self-defense while attempting to have a “heart-to-heart” discussion. However, after being provoked by a comment made by the victim, the defendant claimed, “Before I realized it, I had pulled the trigger three times.”
According to the indictment, Maetani pulled out a revolver and fired three shots at Ishikawa on the terrace of the Starbucks Aeon Town Kawanoe outlet at around 4:00 p.m. on January 14.
Following the brazen daylight execution, Maetani fled the scene. Ehime Prefectural Police subsequently issued a national wanted poster for him, identifying him as a senior member of the Ikeda-gumi, a designated criminal syndicate.
Following a two-month manhunt, police tracked down and arrested Maetani at a residence in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, in March.
