Presiding judge Yasuhiro Morioka utilized testimony of upper members of the gang to rule that number-two boss Kiyoshi Takayama, 66, was complicit in the extortion of a construction industry employee for 40 million yen during three meetings at a hotel in Kyoto in 2005 and 2006.
Subordinate gang members were utilized to perform a specific type of extortion known as mikajimeryo, or the collection of protection money.
Last March, the Kyoto District Court handed down a prison sentence of six years to Takayama.
In the appeal, fellow gang members stated that Takayama, who is the chairman of the Kodo-kai, a secondary organization of the Yamaguchi-gumi, had requested that they “work together” during a gathering at a restaurant in Kyoto in October of 2005. The blackmail plot was carried out thereafter.
The Yamaguchi-gumi is Japan’s largest gang. Based in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, the group has roughly 27,700 members, according to report by the National Police Agency from the end of 2012.
