TOKYO (TR) – The Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday handed a former yakuza boss a two-year prison term for the attempted extortion of actress Akiko Nishina four years ago, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Feb. 26).
According to the ruling, Kazuo Kasaoka, once the boss of the Matsuura-gumi, worked with at least one accomplice in attempting to extort 46 million yen in cash from Nishina, 65, by falsely claiming the funds were repayment of a debt incurred by her former husband, actor Hiroki Matsukata.
In handing down the ruling, presiding judge Takafumi Miyamoto said that Nishina suffered “mental anguish” as a result of the incident. The prosecution had sought a four-year term.
Upon his arrest in 2017, Kasaoka denied the allegations. “I was doing a collection for an acquaintance,” the suspect was quoted by the Machida Police Station.
“Jingi Naki Tatakai”
Nishina made her debut as an actress in 1972. She married Matsukata in 1979. They divorced in 2013.
In January, Matsukata died of brain lymphoma at the age of 74. He is widely known for his appearances in director Kinji Fukasaku’s landmark series “Jingi Naki Tatakai” (Battles Without Honor and Humanity).
In addition to being a former gang boss, Kasaoka, a resident of Kobe, is the head of the nationalist group Dai Nihon Shinsei-kai.
