Roppongi in the morning was in an uproar… “An anomaly” occurred at the “birthday celebration of the chairman of the Inagawa-kai” visited by the highest executive of the Yamaguchigumi VI.

They are here!”

In mid-December, a strange tension filled the air from early morning in front of the Inakawa-kai headquarters building in Roppongi, Tokyo, where businessmen and tourists were rushing about in a hurry. Amidst a chilly wind, a group of members dressed in black suits and ties were lined up in an orderly fashion, surrounded by investigators from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the local Azabu Police Department.

Shortly after 10:00 a.m., a black luxury car arrived as if greeted by the gang members’ voices. The man who got out of the backseat was Kazuya Uchibori, the top leader of the Inagawa-kai.

It is Chairman Uchibori’s birthday. Every year, top executives from Yamaguchigumi VI, a relative organization, including Shomei Takeuchi, 65, a young leader who has a five-minute brotherhood sake cup with Chairman Uchibori, come to congratulate him on behalf of the organization,” said a journalist familiar with the yakuza industry.

A little after 10:30 a.m., a call of “You have arrived! and two cars of the Yamaguchigumi VI arrived. Four of the top leaders, including assistant headman Mitsuo Sato, alighted, but to the surprise of many, young headman Shomei Takeuchi was nowhere to be seen. Since his days as an assistant head, Takeuchi had always visited Chairman Uchibori to congratulate him on his birthday, but this had been cut short.

A big-name yakuza made a move?

Mr. Takeuchi’s visit and dinner afterward had always been a tradition on the occasion of Mr. Uchibori’s birthday. That is why it was such a surprise, but there are some who believe that the preparations for the seventh generation have begun in earnest,” said the journalist mentioned above.

Mr. Takeuchi was promoted from assistant to young head in April of this year. It is said that his selection was motivated by the wishes of Advisor Seiji Takayama (78), who had previously served as Wagashira and still exerts a strong influence on him. Mr. Takayama is keenly interested in putting the Takeuchi system on a firm footing. For this reason, he may want to hand over the responsibility for events with other organizations to other executives and have the young Takeuchi concentrate on building the internal structure. It is only a possibility, but it can be seen as the beginning of a full-fledged movement toward the assumption of the office of the 7th head of the organization.

This year is a “milestone year” for Yamaguchigumi VI, which put an end to the war with Kobe Yamaguchigumi. on April 7, Yamaguchigumi VI unilaterally declared the “end of the war” to the Hyogo Prefectural Police, and Chairman Uchibori is said to have greatly contributed to the preparation of the “written pledge” submitted at that time. Chairman Uchibori prepared a written request for the end of the conflict with the informal consent of Yamaguchigumi VI, and traveled around the country to Yamaguchigumi VI’s friendly organizations to obtain their approval.

In a world that values loyalty, it could be said that young head Takeuchi should have shown up on Chairman Uchibori’s birthday. However, the bond between the five brothers, Takeuchi and Uchibori, is unshakable. I think it is because of this relationship of trust that they did not dare to visit each other this time.

The birthday celebration meeting, which began a little after 10:30 a.m., was over in about 10 minutes. Despite the short meeting, Chairman Uchibori came out of the headquarters and chatted with the Inakawakai executives who had come out with him, occasionally smiling. His face showed a sense of relief that the event had been successfully completed in spite of the absence of Waka-head Takeuchi.