OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police have arrested a high-ranking member of a Yamaguchi-gumi affiliated gang and an accomplice on suspicion of robbery after they allegedly assaulted and threatened a teenager to steal 1.2 million yen, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Nov. 12).
Osaka police identified one of the suspects as Shoichi Kamikawa, 30, a mid-level manager within the designated organized crime syndicate residing in Matsubara City.
According to investigators, the victim—a teenage acquaintance of Kamikawa—had just finished a phone call with the yakuza member. After believing the call had ended, the teen insulted the gangster by name, muttering, “That guy is so annoying,” in Japanese.
Unbeknownst to the teenager, the call had not disconnected. Kamikawa reportedly overheard the disparaging remark.
The suspects allegedly tracked down the teenager and began a campaign of intimidation, reportedly telling him, “You’re looking down on us,” and threatening to “ship him overseas” if he did not pay up.
Under duress, the victim was forced to take a necklace from his family home to a pawn shop to raise the cash.
Police allege that in mid-April, the two men cornered the victim in Osaka and struck his left shoulder with a weapon resembling a police baton before seizing 1.2 million yen in cash.
The victim did not seek medical treatment following the assault, and police have yet to confirm the extent of his injuries. The Osaka Prefectural Police’s Organized Crime Division has not disclosed whether the suspects have admitted to the charges.
