Japan Gang War: Nation's Largest Crime Syndicate, Yamaguchi-gumi, May Be Splitting, Cop Alert Due To Fears Of Bloody Gang War
Japan's biggest organized crime syndicate, Yamaguchi-gumi, may now be splitting up, which stokes fears of widespread war, according to hngn.
In a meeting on the 27th, the Yamaguchi-gumi split happened. Yamaguchi-gumi's godfather, Kenichi Shinoda, also called Shinobu Tsukasa, took 13 gangs out from the "syndicate" as their leaders had not attended, according to Asahi Shimbun.
The reason was the decision by Kobe to remove the headquarters of the syndicate to his hometown, Nagoya, by 73-year-old Tsukasa. However, the decision made leaders of some affiliated gangs angry.
The forebodings of a gang war inside the Yakuza syndicate has made the police stand on national alert, said investigative sources.
"Yamaguchi-gumi had 10,300 members in 44 prefectures around Japan as of the end of 2014. The number expanded to 23,400 when quasi-members are included, accounting for 43.7 percent of all organized crime members in Japan," National Police Agency figures revealed.
There are above 30 gangs that are affiliated with the Kobe headquartered yakuza crime conglomerate, founded in 1915. Yamaguchi-gumi's revenues in 2014 touched $80 billion, making it the world's richest crime syndicate, according to Russia Today.
