Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi’s Aim Revealed in Kōdōkai’s Unusual Leadership Move

A heavyweight militant yakuza becomes the new chairman

This past April, the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi, under the new leadership of Wakagashira Teruaki Takeuchi (65), who unilaterally submitted a written pledge to authorities declaring an end to hostilities with the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, pushed forward with rapid-fire personnel reforms. And on the 8th of this month, Japan’s largest crime syndicate carried out an astonishing personnel decision. Within the Kōdōkai—the core organization of the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi, where Takeuchi himself serves as the third-generation chairman—the fourth-generation chairman was chosen.

The man who assumed the position of Kōdōkai chairman was none other than the group’s number two, Wakagashira Masahiro Nouchi. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, the Kōdōkai is the parent organization of Boss Shinobu Tsukasa (83), former Wakagashira Kiyoshi Takayama (78), who has since taken on the honorary role of senior advisor, and current Wakagashira Takeuchi. Both in name and reality, it is the central group of the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi, and its leadership change is of great significance.

“The Kōdōkai is a prestigious organization founded by Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi boss Tsukasa himself. Its second chairman was Advisor Takayama, who led the Yamaguchi-gumi as the absolute commander of the Sixth regime. Though he holds an honorary title now, his influence remains strong. After yielding the Wakagashira position to Takeuchi, many see this personnel shift as a move to prepare even further ahead by installing Nouchi as chairman of the Kōdōkai.

Boss Tsukasa is a ‘lifetime leader,’ so the future remains uncertain, but Takeuchi’s succession as the seventh-generation boss is becoming more realistic. In that case, they would want the Wakagashira position to be filled by someone from the Kōdōkai. This appointment is seen as an expression of that intention,” said a journalist well-versed in the yakuza world.

Regarding Nouchi, a source familiar with the inner workings of the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi explained:

“He’s known as a ‘militant type’ even within the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi. He rose to the position of Kōdōkai Wakagashira through his achievements during the split conflict. It’s said that his promotion to Wakagashira came directly under the appointment of then-Wakagashira Takayama. Last fall, he was arrested by the Gifu Prefectural Police on suspicion of fraud after reporting a ‘finger amputation’—which falls outside national health insurance coverage—as accidental in order to receive improper health insurance benefits. Though prosecutors ultimately dropped the case, it showed how closely the police are monitoring him as a central figure of the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi.”

Normally, August is when the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi goes on summer recess, and meetings are rarely held during this period. However, this year on August 10, an emergency executive meeting was convened to announce new senior personnel, followed by this major reshuffling. The question remains: what lies behind these moves?

Reform of the top management” is underway in Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi

A source familiar with the inner workings of the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi revealed:

“Normally, personnel changes are decided between autumn and before the ‘Year’s Beginning’ ceremony in December. The fact that they convened an emergency executive meeting this time reflects the strong will of the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi to establish the Takeuchi Wakagashira administration before August 27, which marked 10 full years since the outbreak of the split conflict. The very presence of Advisor Takayama, who had stepped down from the executive board, demonstrates the seriousness of that resolve.”

Of those who were in the executive board at the time of the split, only Wakagashira Takeuchi and Shateigashira Utao Morio remain in the current board. The headquarters chief and the six Wakagashira assistants are all members who joined the executive ranks during the conflict. The rejuvenation of leadership and organizational reform centered on Wakagashira Takeuchi are steadily progressing.

It was within this flow that the latest appointment of the Kōdōkai chairman was carried out. A foundation was thus laid for the “Kōdōkai lineage”—Boss Tsukasa, former Wakagashira Takayama, and Wakagashira Takeuchi—to extend to Chairman Nouchi. Yet, the tension of the “split conflict” has not disappeared. Despite a marked decline in organizational power, neither the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi nor the Ikeda-gumi and Kizuna-kai, which splintered from it, have filed dissolution notices. On August 21, the Hyogo Prefectural Public Safety Commission announced that the designation of both the Ikeda-gumi, based in Okayama City, and the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi, headquartered in Kobe, as designated specific conflict groups would be extended until December 7.

“At its root, the cause of the split conflict is said to be dissatisfaction with the way the Sixth regime operated—monopolizing the top two positions of boss and wakagashira, which had previously rotated from different groups, within the Kōdōkai. Now that it has become clear that Kōdōkai’s control is strengthening, attention on the organization’s internal developments will only intensify,” commented the same journalist.

Will the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi proceed with even more reformist personnel changes in the future? Every move it makes is drawing unprecedented attention.