Legendary Gangster Yusuke Share His Experience After the Prison Release and the Current State of Minami

It’s been a while since I’ve been here. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here. New buildings have been built and the streets are gradually changing from the ones I know. I know that, but it still makes me feel sad.

Yusuke Yoshimitsu (35), known as “Taepodong,” talks about the city of Minami, Osaka, his former home ground, as he looks around.

Yusuke first came to prominence in July 2007 with the NHK special, “Hangyure: The Realities of Antisocial Forces.

At the time, there was a sharp increase in the number of incidents involving the “hangure,” and their existence was attracting attention. Yusuke appeared in the program as a symbol of the “Hangre”. The sight of him and Kenmun, another well-known martial artist in Osaka’s Minami district, strolling around the Minami district had a strong impact on the public.

I’ve never thought of myself as a “half-greed” person,” he said. Even when I first heard the word ‘hangyure’ I didn’t understand it, so I read a book to find out what it meant.

Yusuke first set foot on the streets of Minami when he was a teenager.

Yusuke first stepped into Minami when he was a teenager, “I used to go to the clubs in Amemura to hold events and to pick up girls. At that time, all the bars were open until morning, and the neon lights and signs were bright even at midnight.

I actually started working in Minami when I was 18 years old. Through an acquaintance, I started working as a boy at a sex cabaret, and at times I was running 16 different restaurants. One of them was the first to launch the concept of a girls bar, and it was a big hit.

I had been struggling with money all my life up until then, so the amount of money I had to deal with increased by a huge amount all at once, and probably because of the stress of the job, I was drinking and fighting a lot back then.

After one of these fights, a friend in Minami who was with me told me, “If you drink alcohol, the Taepodong will fall in Minami.

It was also in Minami that I met Kengetsu. He was originally an underground martial arts fighter, and his fighting prowess was extraordinary. I knew that I couldn’t beat him in a fight. Because of my work, I was relatively used to dealing with problems, so although my role was different from Kengetsu’s, and we were in different groups, we got along well and started hanging out as friends.

The significance of nightlife now that he has left Minami

However, in August 2007, after his appearance on NHK, Yusuke was arrested by the Osaka Prefectural Police for attempted extortion and sentenced to one year and two months in prison. He was released from prison in April of last year.

He was released from prison last April. “I don’t agree with the reason for my arrest, and there are things I want to say. But now I’ve graduated from the water business and left Minami.

There is no way I will return to Minami. I think I have done all I can do here. I have no regrets and no regrets.

Yusuke “Taepodong” has made his name known in the nightlife of Minami. However, the Minami area, which attracted many delinquents, has lost its liveliness due to the lingering effects of the Corona disaster.

Even people who work day jobs need to take a break at some point. I think it’s natural for them to go to places where they can drink alcohol or where women serve customers.　And because there is demand, there is supply, right? I don’t think it’s right for a third party to say, ‘You can’t go out drinking. Well, what are you going to do about it? I wonder if I can cover the mental aspects of people whose needs are not being met.

People tend to look at the water business as an enemy, but I think the fact that there are rules and regulations within the store protects public safety. The risk of customers getting into trouble or getting ripped off is much lower than in “papakatsu” where customers play with women directly. By the way, I’ve never been ripped off.

The label “semi-greedy” follows me everywhere

He is currently active on Instagram (“@t.p.d.n_king” and “king_t.p.d.n”), his Youtube channel “T.P.TV,” and launched his own apparel brand “T.P.D.N Genocida” at the end of last year.

I’m in the middle of searching for new things I want to do, and I’m really busy. I’m also working on my music career and have completed my second song, which will be released soon. I’ve never been good at singing, but when I was working at a bar, I was forced to sing a lot, so I’ve been trained. I’ve also been cast in a movie, so I’m looking forward to the shooting. If I get the call, I would like to appear on TV as well. Anyway, my goal for the time being is to try my hand at various things.

Yusuke says that he has graduated from being a delinquent.

He says that he himself has graduated from being a delinquent, “For example, with the yakuza, you wash your feet and become a hard man. However, because Han-Gure is not recognized as Han-Gure by anyone, nor does it call itself Han-Gure, it is labeled as Han-Gure for the rest of its life. Even if you try to do something serious, the label of “half-greed” will follow you everywhere.

Yankee comics are booming among boys and girls right now, aren’t they? There are kids who enter the world of delinquents because they yearn for that kind of world. I think that’s fine. I think it’s okay for such kids to be in the “semi-greedy” world, as long as they grow up, reform, and take it seriously. If someone says it’s too late, I think that’s not true.

I don’t think of myself as a delinquent now. I’ve always been a coward and worried about what people would think of me, but after being called a “Taepodong,” I’ve been able to hide that part of myself. But from now on, I don’t have to hide myself, and when my seniors ask me, “What are you going to do now? I say, ‘I’m not a delinquent by nature.

The second chapter in the life of the man known as “The Legendary Half-Guy” has begun.

from “FRIDAY” February 25, 2022 issue