<figure id="attachment_308739" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 576px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-308739"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a8dbf14d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/04/b3d17d41dbfaa4a238da56cd63e2188a.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-308739" class="wp-caption-text">Mr. Yoshima was the manager of a popular ramen restaurant (image from his Instagram)</figcaption></figure>
The crime was committed in broad daylight.
At around 11:00 a.m. on April 22, Manabu Yoshima, 57, the manager of a ramen restaurant in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, was shot and killed by someone.
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 A female employee returning from a shopping trip found Mr. Yosima lying on the floor of the ramen store with blood pouring from his head. The crime was committed within about 30 minutes of the employee leaving the restaurant. There was no murder weapon found at the scene, and although it was initially reported that Mr. Yoshima died of illness, a gunshot wound was found in his head during a subsequent autopsy. The prefectural police are investigating the case on the grounds that someone fired a gun into Mr. Yoshima&#8217;s mouth and killed him.
In addition to the gruesome details of the crime, which involved sticking a pistol in his mouth, what attracted attention in this case was Mr. Yosima&#8217;s title. A gangster journalist said, &#8220;Mr. Yosima was a ramen shop owner.
 Mr. Yosima was the owner of a ramen store, but he was also the active leader of the Kodokai, the sixth Yamaguchigumi clan. However, he had no gang members and was what is called a &#8220;one-man gang leader. Minato Kogyo, of which Mr. Yoshima was the boss, was the only organization based in Kobe that was a direct member of the Kodokai. It is said that having a direct supervisor at the home base of the rival Kobe Yamaguchigumi was of great significance to the Yamaguchigumi VI.
However, Mr. Yoshima himself felt a limit to his &#8220;two-footedness&#8221; as a gang leader and ramen store manager.
 The COVID-19 crisis made it difficult for him to run his ramen shop, and he was behind in paying his dues to the upper organization. He had offered to the head office that he wanted to resign from the direct supervisor position, but it was not easy for him to do so because he was the only member of the VI Yamaguchi Gumi from Kobe. Mr. Yoshima has children and grandchildren, and he told those close to him that he wanted to become a firm member.
The incident occurred just then.
Meanwhile, the Kodokai has been attracting attention. The Kodokai is the parent organization of Yamaguchigumi VI&#8217;s head, Shinobu Tsukasa, and its young leader, Seiji Takayama, and is indeed a core organization. If the crime was committed by rival organizations, it would mean &#8220;war&#8221; at the same time.
 Immediately after the incident, the Kodokai-affiliated organizations were ordered to &#8220;stand down. Of course, if Mr. Yosima was killed by a rival gang, there is no doubt that they would take some kind of revenge. However, it is also true that some in the gang are questioning this incident. Although he is a direct member of the clan, he is a gang leader who seemed to have wanted to be a stalwart. What kind of organization would go out of its way to kill a person who was earnestly working on a ramen shop?&#8221;
In fact, the &#8220;grudge theory&#8221; is said to be the most likely explanation for this incident.
 In fact, the &#8220;grudge theory&#8221; is the most likely explanation for this incident. &#8220;At the time of the incident, the names of several organizations, both internal and external, were being discussed, but none of them were beyond the realm of speculation. The prefectural police are also investigating both sides of the conflict, or trouble within the organizations, but we have not been able to obtain any information. However, since there were no signs of a fight in the restaurant, it is believed to be more along the lines of a grudge between acquaintances. As time goes by, it is becoming more and more likely that the incident was not the result of a gang war,&#8221; said a reporter from the society department of a national newspaper.
(A reporter from a national newspaper&#8217;s social division).
 At first it was said that the gang that did it would soon be identified, but the culprits have yet to be identified. If it was a grudge, it would be even more difficult for the gang to make a move.
Was it a grudge or a war? The investigation is now underway.
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Photos of Mr. Yoshima's funeral, with many big names in attendance."></div>
<figure id="attachment_308740" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1171px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-308740"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="45515e70"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/04/35ad580292934d77de4b6afe72f97d77.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-308740" class="wp-caption-text">Flowers are said to have been offered by big names at Mr. Yosima&#8217;s funeral, including Wakao Takayama, the young leader of the Yamaguchi Gumi VI.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_308741" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-308741"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6ef782dd"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/04/03a4612e706047812925194040296532-1.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-308741" class="wp-caption-text">Mr. Takayama is a young leader of the Yamaguchigumi VI. Kodokai has been instructed to &#8220;stand by&#8221; since the incident.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_308951" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1160px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-308951"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8d908172"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/04/05a3ec9995ee08250ccf132259e29b67.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-308951" class="wp-caption-text">From his Instagram</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_308952" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1166px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-308952"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="eeb25e8c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/04/2df4340452ed1fb689a8e4f2283fd9bd.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-308952" class="wp-caption-text">He uploaded many photos of eating ramen on his SNS. From his own Instagram</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_308941" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-308941"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6d2f836d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/04/66b8f9cd46de6b5a2614ecd3bdbad3c6.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-308941" class="wp-caption-text">Mr. Tsukasa came to the &#8220;Jikki-Meeting Ceremony&#8221; held at the headquarters of the Kokuriya Family in Shizuoka Prefecture last December.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_308943" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-308943"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="04bdf14d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/04/391c30033828a906af886c19fca20ede.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-308943" class="wp-caption-text">Wakagashira Takayama at the Inagawa Kaikan last December</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_308944" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1581px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-308944"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5248e4a2"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/04/a9d8b2c0915472c01ba3fa975f14ccac.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-308944" class="wp-caption-text">Shomei Takeuchi visited the Inagawa-kai headquarters on December 19, 2011</figcaption></figure>

 The crime was committed in broad daylight. At around 11:00 a.m. on April 22, Manabu Yoshima, 57, the manager of a ramen restaurant in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, was shot and killed by someone. He was lying on the floor of the ramen store, bleeding from the head.

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