HYOGO (TR) – The boss of Japan’s largest yakuza syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi, is plotting a triumphant return to the gang’s historic Kobe City headquarters, a move seemingly facilitated by local police reluctant to lose the lucrative budgets that come with hosting the mob.
It has been seven years since the Yamaguchi-gumi vacated its sprawling compound in Nada Ward. However, with a strict “specific conflict designation” against the rival Okayama Prefecture-based Ikeda-gumi set to be lifted on September 8, rumors of a homecoming for godfather Shinobu Tsukasa are sweeping through the underworld.
Speculation is also mounting that similar conflict designations against two other splinter groups — the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi and the Kizuna-kai — could be terminated by the end of the year, effectively signaling an end to a long-running turf war, reports evening tabloid Nikkan Gendai (Aug. 31).
Becoming a reality
Under the harsh regulations enforced in designated “warning areas,” authorities were granted sweeping powers, allowing them to immediately arrest gang members if five or more simply gathered together at a restaurant.
With the restrictions fading, affiliated gangs have recently received urgent orders to dispatch “repair” and “cleaning” crews to the dilapidated Kobe headquarters. Tsukasa’s long-held dream of returning to the syndicate’s “sacred ground” is rapidly becoming a reality.
The situation highlights a stark double standard in how police handle different yakuza factions. Authorities have actively dismantled the headquarters of rival splinter groups, forcing the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi and Kizuna-kai out of their respective bases. Those evictions were driven by property auctions and civil lawsuits filed by local residents — legal actions often orchestrated by police-backed anti-mob centers.
Yet, despite sitting empty and deteriorating for seven years, the Yamaguchi-gumi’s main compound has faced no such injunctions or eviction attempts.
“99 percent unlikely”
According to a local underworld source, the Hyogo Prefectural Police have a vested interest in keeping the syndicate exactly where it is. Taking action to seize the property via the anti-mob center is “99 percent unlikely,” the source said.
“The only reason the Hyogo Prefectural Police command so much respect among law enforcement nationwide is because they host Japan’s largest syndicate,” the insider explained. “Their anti-gang personnel and budgets are massive, rivaling even the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, which allows them to take lavish ‘inspection trips’ from Hokkaido to Okinawa whenever they please.”
The source noted that Hyogo’s budget eclipses even that of the Aichi Prefectural Police, who oversee the Yamaguchi-gumi’s powerful Kodo-kai faction—the group that produced Tsukasa and other top brass.
“In a way, the Hyogo police exist because of the Yamaguchi-gumi,” the source added. “It’s hard to imagine them foolishly letting go of such a ‘prime asset’.”
