Although the ratio of the number of members is overwhelming “4000 to 510″… “Aim and Difficulty” of “Yamaguchigumi VI” fighting a war of 23 years division.

The largest gang in Japan, “Yamaguchigumi VI,” split in August 2015, and a breakaway group formed the “Kobe Yamaguchigumi,” which is now in its ninth year of conflict.

In 2023, the rivalry and warfare between the “Kobe Yamaguchigumi” and the “Yamaguchigumi” will enter its ninth year. So far, about 90 cases of conflict have occurred and eight people have died. If internal troubles over transfers, etc., which are not caused by confrontation are included, there have been more than 100 incidents and more than a dozen people have died.

In 2023, the dominance of the 6th Yamaguchigumi is expected to become even clearer.

Kobe Yamaguchigumi was formed by 13 organizations, including the five core organizations of Ikeda, Chiyukai, and Masaki, in addition to the Yamaguchigumi and Takumi groups. The shock was great because the Yamakengumi and Takumi organizations were considered well-known brands not only within Yamaguchigumi but also throughout the gang industry, and the decision was made in opposition to the management of the organization centered on the Koudoukai, the parent organization of the sixth Yamaguchigumi leader, Shinobu Tsukasa.

At the time of the split, Yamaguchigumi VI had about 6,000 members and Kobe Yamaguchigumi about 2,800. However, after the split, organizations joined Kobe Yamaguchigumi one after another, and Kobe Yamaguchigumi had more momentum. However, the tide of the rivalry changed dramatically when Seiji Takayama, the number two of the 6th Yamaguchigumi from Kodokai and a young leader, was released from prison in October 2019, having served time in a blackmail case.

Why was there no “return”?

In October of the same year, two members of the Yamaguchigumi Yamaken-gumi, then affiliated with the Kobe Yamaguchigumi, were shot to death simultaneously in Kobe City. In the following November, a senior member of the Kobe Yamaguchigumi was killed by dozens of bullets from an automatic rifle in Amagasaki City, and a succession of organizations withdrew from the group. Those arrested were all members of the 6th Yamaguchigumi.

A senior police official in charge of organized crime control at the time said, “The mere fact that Takayama was released from prison gave momentum to the Yamaguchigumi VI umbrella organization, and a number of people died on the Kobe (Yamaguchigumi) side. That is how charismatic he is. He is not only armed but also excels in shinogi (fund-raising activities) to maintain the organization and has intelligence as well,” he commented.

In order to suppress the intensification of rivalry, it was decided to designate both the Yamaguchigumi VI and the Kobe Yamaguchigumi as “designated gangs for specific rivalry” and to strictly regulate their activities.

In the course of the rivalry, there was a series of incidents caused by the Yamaguchigumi VI side. In addition to the aforementioned incident, a young head of Yamakengumi, which is also the home organization of Kunio Inoue, head of Kobe Yamaguchigumi, was stabbed with a knife and seriously injured in April 2019. In the Ikeda-gumi, which had a reputation for abundant financial resources, a young leader was shot and killed in May 2016, and his successor was shot and seriously injured again in May 2020.

In the gang industry, it is common knowledge that “if you are beaten, you immediately retaliate. However, “There was no retaliation from the Kobe (Yamaguchigumi) side. The intention is unknown, but it seems that Inoue did not allow it” (the police official mentioned above ).

There was also a lot of internal dissatisfaction over money. As this situation continued, the Ikeda-gumi announced its withdrawal in July 2020 and the Sanken-gumi announced its withdrawal in August of the same year. This was received with surprise in the industry. An even more shocking fact was revealed. Yamakengumi had returned to the 6th Yamaguchigumi. For the Kobe Yamaguchigumi, this was an irreparable blow.

A senior official of a designated gang mainly active in the Tokyo metropolitan area, who has been closely following the rivalry, said, “The withdrawal of the Yamakengumi and Ikeda-gumi must have been unconvincing regarding the situation in which they could not return what was done to them. If they did nothing, they would be looked at with suspicion not only by the yakuza community but also by the katagi. That must be why they left,” he commented.

The rivalry incident had died down for a while. In May, a car was raided at the home of Tadashi Irie, head of the Takumi clan in Toyonaka City, Osaka Prefecture; in June, shots were fired at Inoue’s home in Kobe City; in October, Ikeda Takashi, head of the Ikeda clan, was attacked by a man with a survival knife while getting a haircut at a barber store in Okayama City, and an executive in the 6th Yamaguchigumi clan was arrested. In addition, the police and the police department of the city of Okayama have been investigating these incidents.

Commenting on these successive incidents, the aforementioned senior police official said, “The homes of top leaders were attacked, including the shooting at Inoue’s home and the car raid on Irie’s home. And above all, the attack on Ikeda targeted the top leader’s body. This is the first time that the head of a designated gang has been directly targeted in a protracted rivalry. This is completely different from previous incidents.

The Okayama Prefectural Public Safety Commission has designated both the Yamaguchigumi VI and the Ikeda Gumi as specified rival gangs because they are in a state of rivalry and warfare.

Investigative executives aiming for the “first shipment

In the summer of 2022, there was a move that further reduced the power of the Kobe Yamaguchigumi. Chiyukyokai and Takumi Gumi withdrew from the group. It was said that Chikyoyukai was seeking an amicable dissolution of the Kobe Yamaguchigumi. Takumi Gumi was considering solidarity with Ikeda Gumi and Kizuna Gumi (which left the Kobe Yamaguchigumi in 2017), which had left to oppose the 6th Yamaguchigumi. However, all of them withdrew from the group as a result of a conflict of lines with Inoue. At the end of 2022, Osamu Teraoka, chairman of the Chivalrous Friends Association, apologized to the 6th Yamaguchigumi and announced his retirement and the dissolution of the organization.

Since the Masaki Gumi has already dissolved in August 2020, all five core organizations at the time of its formation have left Kobe Yamaguchigumi. 2023 is likely to be a year of further trials and tribulations.

In 2022, as mentioned above, the following confrontation incidents occurred: the shooting of Kobe Yamaguchigumi leader Inoue at his home, a vehicle raid on Takumi leader Irie’s home, and an attack on Ikeda’s haircut at a barbershop. The 6th Yamaguchigumi will not ease up in 2023, and it is expected that the trend of increasing aggression will continue.

However, the police authorities have not simply stood by and watched these movements. In the past, even when members of various organizations under the Yamaguchigumi VI were arrested as perpetrators in rivalry incidents, police investigations did not reach the rank of boss.

In September, the Miyazaki and Oita prefectural police arrested the head of the Ishii Family on suspicion of attempted murder, and in October, the chairman of the Kyokudokai was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department on fraud charges. Furthermore, in November, the Fukuoka Prefectural Police arrested the president of the Ichido Kai on suspicion of attempted arson of an existing building. Although most cases are not prosecuted, this was a strong indication of the police force’s strong stance on the issue.

In 2023, police officers in charge of organized crime investigations across Japan are expected to start arresting direct fighters early in the new year, and are planning to make their first arrests. The year 2023 will be a difficult one for the Yamaguchigumi VI. (Honorifics omitted in the text)