<figure id="attachment_372149" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-372149" style="width: 1052px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="4ff88aec"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/05/99fc2c81583b9511ae23595760d6313b.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-372149" class="wp-caption-text">Kazuya Uchibori, 71, chairman of the Inagawa-kai.&#8217; He has served as the sixth chairman since 19</figcaption></figure>
<p> The Inagawa-kai is the third most powerful gang in Japan after the Yamaguchigumi VI and the Sumiyoshi-kai. Inagawa-gumi, the origin of the organization, was established in 1949, shortly after the end of World War II. Since then, the group has been active for a long time and is still a prestigious organization with approximately 1,700 members (as of the end of 2011).</p>
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<p> This spring, the general headquarters of the Inakawakai issued an &#8220;unprecedented notice&#8221; to its affiliated organizations. The notice prohibited the use of smartphones and other such devices at meetings. The ban was apparently taken out of concern that the content of the meetings would be leaked to outside parties, since the widespread use of smartphones has made it easy to take pictures and record videos.</p>
<p> The title of the letter is &#8220;Inagawa-kai Sohonbu Goshoukou Notification,&#8221; which reads,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The title of the letter is &#8220;Notice from the Inagawa-kai General Headquarters&#8221; and it states: &#8220;Possession of smart phones, cell phones, and smart watches is strictly prohibited in the Inagawa Kaikan during meetings (regular direct visit meetings and board of directors meetings). The person in charge of each office and the person on duty are requested to notify the head of each family and the head of each clan.</span></p>
<p> The message was sent from &#8220;Inagawa-kai. The source of the letter is &#8220;Inagawa-kai General Headquarters.</p>
<p><a href="#" data-ident_hash="aea690d4"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/05/3dc0a45bc43156ba1cf1090cc2f7d64c.jpg" alt=""></a></p>
<p> The &#8220;Inagawa Kaikan&#8221; referred to in the letter refers to an Inagawa-kai facility in Yokohama City, and the &#8220;regular direct visit meetings and board of directors meetings&#8221; refer to the monthly meetings of the top executives. An old senior official of a designated organized crime syndicate with a long history of activities explains the meetings of the top executives of a gangster organization as described in this document.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The meeting of the direct supervisors (the heads of the immediate gangs) is sometimes important in that the personnel of the new organization are announced and the direction of the organization is presented, but sometimes the meeting is short, lasting only about 10 minutes. Even so, it is still a very important forum for notifying each direct supervisor.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> The designated gang leader emphasizes that the above notification from the Inagawa-kai is &#8220;a countermeasure against information leaks. He also pointed out the following.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The meeting is not always important. Nevertheless, if the contents of the meeting were recorded and leaked to the outside world, it would raise questions about the organization&#8217;s discipline. In recent years, there have been YouTube users who want this kind of audio, so they must be nervous.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> It seems that the sophisticated tool that is the smartphone has raised new issues in the gangster community.</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" A great intimidation...Inagawa-kai Chairman Uchibori, &quot;Meat Thin Shot&quot;."></div>
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<figure id="attachment_372165" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-372165" style="width: 1390px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b37e9107"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/05/2bbd55d192c49289f548970d13b5fea2.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-372165" class="wp-caption-text">Late last year, Chairman Uchibori appeared in front of the Inagawa-kai General Headquarters to celebrate his birthday.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_372166" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-372166" style="width: 1420px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="af75e0ec"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/05/9d7d3ac045eadd24b6212d7933647d3e.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-372166" class="wp-caption-text"> He was beaming from start to finish.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_372167" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-372167" style="width: 1432px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="83bf9834"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/05/719de3c218cfa26c18fbb416a0479216.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-372167" class="wp-caption-text"> He answered reporters&#8217; calls with a smile.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_372168" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-372168" style="width: 1418px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="dfa90a7e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/05/d4bafe34c168d441c0bf5f856ea5133f.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-372168" class="wp-caption-text"> Mr. Shomei Takeuchi, an assistant head of the Yamaguchigumi VI, appeared on Chairman Uchibori&#8217;s birthday. They are five-fifths brothers.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_372164" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-372164" style="width: 1270px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6cfa1c5c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/05/f1389cfd54c66333787a6738fceb3d60.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-372164" class="wp-caption-text"> Chairman Uchibori walking with Shomei Takeuchi, the assistant vice president of Yamaguchigumi VI. It is believed that they had lunch together afterwards.</figcaption></figure>
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 Nonfiction writer. After working for the Sankei Shimbun in charge of the National Police Agency Press Club, the Metropolitan Police Department Cap, Kanagawa Prefectural Police Cap, Judicial Press Club, and National Tax Agency Press Club, he went freelance. His recent book is "How We Live: Money, Women, and Quitting Time of the Modern Yakuza" (Kodansha + Alpha Shinsho).

 Masahiro Ojima

 Shinji Hamasaki (except for the second photo)

 The Inagawa-kai is one of the five most prestigious yakuza groups in Japan, with approximately 1,700 members. In the spring of this year, the headquarter issued an "unprecedented notice" to the Inagawa Kaikan. The contents of the notice were that "no smart phones are allowed" in the Inagawa Kaikan.

Inagawa-kai’s General Headquarters Issues “Unusual Notice” to Its Affiliated Organizations: “No Cell Phones at Meetings

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