TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a senior member of a Yamaguchi-gumi affiliate and one other man for allegedly extorting a restaurant owner in Shibuya Ward for protection money, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Sep. 4).
Toma Sato, a 44-year-old high-ranking member of a syndicate under the sixth-generation Yamaguchi-gumi, and Ken Shimada, a 42-year-old unemployed man from Musashino City, are accused of extorting approximately 2.2 million yen from a restaurant operator in his 30s.
According to the Shibuya Police Station, the suspects intimidated the victim into paying mikajimeryo (protection money) by threatening his livelihood.
“This is yakuza turf in Ebisu, so if you don’t pay up properly, you won’t be able to run your shop,” the men allegedly told the victim. They further demanded, “Except for the Bon and year-end holidays, it’s 100,000 yen a month.”
Succumbing to the threats, the victim handed over cash on 18 separate occasions. Police have withheld whether the two suspects have admitted to the allegations.
The investigation was launched in September of last year after an individual familiar with the extortion scheme consulted with Shibuya police.
