NAGOYA (TR) – Aichi Prefectural Police on Tuesday announced the arrest of an organized crime member over the extortion of adult-entertainment clubs, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (Aug. 19).
Between December of last year and February, Masayuki Kojima, a 56-year-old member of the Kodo-kai, is alleged to have received 900,000 yen in payments — specifically yojimbo-dai, or protection money — on three occasions from several hostess clubs located in Naka and Nakamura wards.
According to the Asahi Shimbun (Aug. 18), the clubs are managed by 56-year-old Hideo Suzuoki, the president of a company. Tomoki Yamada, a 42-year-old employee of the company, made the payments to Kojima. Both men have also been arrested.
The three suspects have been charged with violating an Aichi ordinance regarding the exclusion of organized crime. Kojima has refused to comment on the allegations while Suzuoki admits to the charges. Yamada said that he made no such payments.
The payoffs came to light during an investigation into another case involving Suzuoki that lead to his arrest in July. In that case, he is alleged to have sold cigarettes to visitors at low-cost accommodations without a license.
The Kodo-kai is an affiliate group of the Yamaguchi-gumi. Kojima is the top boss of the Kojima-gumi, which operates under the Kodo-kai.
Police suspect that Kojima has been receiving similar payments since 1998.
