Feb 02 (Japan Times) - The Yamaguchi-gumi is one of the most feared crime syndicates in Japan and yet its name may become a relic of the past in 2020 if recent reports are to be believed.
In terms of size, the Kobe-based Yamaguchi-gumi is already on the wane. The syndicate boasted nearly 40,000 members at its peak, but membership has steadily declined over the years.
As the group was celebrating its centennial in August 2015, a faction named the Yamaken-gumi broke away from the syndicate, taking thousands of members with them to form the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi.
The Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi claimed they were leaving the group in an attempt to revive traditional yakuza values.
However, the subsequent arrests of leading figures for fraud that targeted the elderly didn’t make them seem much better than the group they left. It was effectively business as usual.
The tension between the two groups boiled over into a fully-fledged gang war, with attacks on rivals and reprisals spilling onto the streets.
A third faction named the Ninkyo Yamaguchi-gumi emerged in 2017, ostensibly renouncing criminal activity. Yoshinori Oda, the group’s charismatic leader, is believed to have wanted his syndicate to patrol the streets and preserve law and order.
This enraged the Kobe-Yamaguchi syndicate. It organized a hit on Oda, who survived the attempt. His bodyguard was killed in the attack.
