Arrested Yakuza Members Terrorized Baby Castella Stall—The Motive Behind Their Threats

Threatened a man who was selling baby castella

“Who gave you permission to do business here?”
“If you sell here again tomorrow, I’ll destroy your shop.”

A gang member and two accomplices were arrested for intimidating a man selling baby castella from a food truck with such words.

“The suspects arrested by the Nishiarai Police Station are Junya Hattori (47), head of an organization under the designated yakuza group Kyokutokai, and two other men. On January 2 of this year, they allegedly threatened a man in his 50s selling baby castella in a parking lot near Nishiarai Daishi in Adachi Ward, saying things like ‘We only allow one baby castella shop in Nishiarai,’ and were arrested on suspicion of violating the Act on Punishment of Acts of Violence (collective intimidation).

During questioning, the three denied the charges, saying, ‘We remember it, but we were just giving a warning,’” said a reporter from a national newspaper’s social affairs section.

On August 20, Hattori was sent to prosecutors from Honjo Police Station. He appeared before the press with neatly styled hair and beard, a tanned complexion, and a sharp gaze, looking every bit the tough gangster. However, he occasionally closed his eyes, showing some signs of unease.

The man who had been threatened also experienced an incident the next day in which a fire extinguisher was sprayed inside his food truck while selling baby castella, and the police are investigating Hattori’s possible involvement.

One yakuza insider commented on the background of the incident.

“This incident likely occurred because the victim hadn’t paid protection money, so he was harassed. Alternatively, it’s possible that a street vendor who does pay protection money reported the situation to the gang.

In the latter case, the gang might have been informed by another vendor who pays protection money that someone had started doing business in the area, prompting them to act. Since they are collecting protection money, they have to respond even to minor disputes; failing to do so would undermine their authority over other shops that pay.

Although the suspect denies the charges, whether or not he actually said, ‘If you sell here tomorrow, I’ll destroy your shop,’ is irrelevant. Any statement made by a yakuza member can be considered intimidation, leading to arrest. Such arrests can also trigger searches of the gang’s office, so the suspect has made a misstep.”

Regarding the fire extinguisher incident, it’s not yet clear whether Hattori or his associates were responsible. According to this insider, “Normally, in this day and age, yakuza wouldn’t do something like this to ordinary civilians.”

“If it was indeed the suspects, it’s likely that an argument with the victim escalated to a point of no return. They may have confronted him with ‘Don’t sell here,’ and when the shop owner argued back, they felt their pride had been challenged. Yakuza place extreme importance on reputation, so they cannot allow even one civilian to defy them. If spraying the fire extinguisher was meant as punishment for being disrespected, it makes sense.”

It seems the victim was merely asserting his legitimate right to conduct business in that location. We should not live in a world where correct reasoning is crushed by violence.