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 ).