The 2023 Reiwa 5 Guideline of the Kizumokai, a Japanese organized crime syndicate, has caused a stir in the yakuza industry.

In the yakuza world, it is customary to greet the New Year one step ahead of the general public. In December this year, each organization held a “Jikkajime Ceremony” and other events, and “guidelines” for the new year were notified to all concerned. Among them, the guidelines of Kizuna Kizuna Kai, chaired by Kizuna Makoto Oda, are suddenly attracting a lot of attention.

The guideline of the Kizuna Kai for Reiwa 2023 is “Always be on the battlefield. The guiding principle of Kizuna Kai for FY2023 is “Always be on the battlefield,” which literally means to be always ready for battle. I feel Chairman Oda’s strong will that we are still in the midst of battle. I think he may be aiming to further tighten up the organization as a whole.

FRIDAY obtained a written notice sent to related parties. In the document, next to the guideline “Always be on the battlefield,” there is a sentence that reads, “Always be prepared to be on the battlefield when you do something. Behind Chairman Oda’s decision to use such strong language in his guidelines is the relationship between the increasingly aggressive Yamaguchigumi VI and the Rengo, which is confronting it.

In September of this year, a substantial coalition was formed between the Kobe Yamaguchigumi, the Ikeda-gumi of Okayama, and the Kizuna-kai, and it took the form of a confrontation with the Yamaguchigumi VI. The Ikeda-gumi, which has financial strength, has been attacked one after another, and on October 26, a visit to a barbershop in Okayama City by a gang leader, Takashi Ikeda, was attacked by Yamaguchigumi VI officials holding a survival knife with a blade of about 18 cm in length. The Okayama Prefectural Public Safety Commission and other authorities designated the Yamaguchigumi VI and the Ikeda clan as “designated gangs for specific conflicts. The Kizuna-kai was no exception, and after the Rengo’s announcement, an incident occurred in Nagano Prefecture in which a Kizuna-kai leader was attacked with a baseball bat.

From the perspective of the Yamaguchigumi VI, no replacement can be made unless the feud is cleared up. Young head Seiji Takayama may launch a further onslaught early next year in order to settle the matter at an early date. I think the guideline of the Kizuna-kai is in consideration of such a situation.

On the other hand, the guideline of the Yamaguchigumi VI is the same as last year’s “harmony and parental unity. It is an excerpt from “Yamaguchigumi’s Platform,” the basic philosophy established by Kazuo Taoka, the third head of the Yamaguchigumi, and is believed to be aimed at promoting unity of the organization.

The current goal of the Yamaguchigumi VI is to end the conflict next year. On the other hand, the guideline of Kobe Yamaguchigumi is ‘Sincerity and consistency. In a sense, it is a guideline with a strong message that no matter how much they are cut down, they will not raise their voices to the end and will carry on their sincerity. Whether it is ‘wa-chin-goichi,’ ‘sincerity consistency,’ or ‘joko zairu senjo,’ I think these are guidelines that show the attitude of each of these organizations that claim to be the original home of their members.

We can only hope that the war does not intensify and that all parts of the country do not really become “battlefields.