HYOGO (TR) – Hyogo Prefectural Police last week arrested two yakuza gangster over the alleged stabbing of a boss of a rival criminal syndicate in Kobe, reports Mainichi Broadcasting System (Apr. 18).
At around 12:05 a.m. on April 18, a woman tipped off police about a “man stabbed” in the Kasuganomichi Shotengai shopping district of Chuo Ward.
Officers arriving at the scene found the 65-year-old boss of a gang affiliated with the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi with wounds to the shoulder and buttocks.
The gang boss was transported to a hospital in serious condition. However, his life was not believed to be in danger, police said previously.
About one hour later, Mitsuhiro Kure, a 56-year-old member of the Yamaguchi-gumi, and another member of the same gang surrendered to police.
“I stabbed [him], but I did not intend to kill,” Kure was quoted in partially denying the charge of attempted murder.
Prior to the incident, the woman exited a restaurant with the gang boss. An examination of security camera footage showed an unknown assailant, probably male, attacking the boss from behind before fleeing in a vehicle driven by a suspected accomplice, police said.
Officers later found the vehicle abandoned in a coin-operated lot located about 2 kilometers from the crime scene. A knife with 20-centimeter-long blade was retrieved from inside the vehicle.
The Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi formed following the dissolution of the Yamaguchi-gumi in 2015. Police believe the incident on Thursday is related to a dispute between the two gangs that has been ongoing since the split.
