The “inside story” of the arrest of a candidate for the next chairman of the Sumiyoshikai for “using a fraudulently purchased car”.

Big-name Yakuza Arrested for a “Minor Charge

At 8:00 a.m. on April 8, an elderly man was walking to his escort vehicle surrounded by several police officers at the Kasai Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. He glanced at the camera for a moment, but did not seem to pay attention and continued on his way. He is a big-name yakuza who is considered a candidate for the next chairman of the Sumiyoshi-kai, a designated crime syndicate.

On April 7, the Metropolitan Police Department announced the arrest of Hideki Kojima, 75, a senior member of the Sumiyoshi-kai, and two others on suspicion of violating the Organized Crime Punishment Law (receipt of proceeds of crime, etc.). Kojima and his driver are suspected of using a Toyota “Alphard” purchased by a Sumiyoshikai-affiliated executive (54, arrested on suspicion of fraud) between March and December 2012, knowing that the car had been purchased illegally.

The suspect is the chairman of Keio-kai, a secondary organization of Sumiyoshi-kai, and this car was called “the chairman’s exclusive car” and was used for transportation. Kojima denies the charge, saying he does not know how the car was obtained.

The Gang Exclusion Ordinances enforced in all prefectures in Japan by October 2011 prohibit the provision of benefits, exclude gang members from public construction projects and public facilities, and regulate the opening and operation of offices. As a result, it is no longer possible for a gang member to purchase a car in his own name on the grounds that this constitutes “profit-sharing.

Speaking of Sumiyoshi-kai, members of the Kouhei family, a secondary group, were arrested in succession from March through early this month on charges of attempted extortion, confinement, robbery, and assault. The arrests are believed to have been related to the Tokyu investigation. Is it a coincidence that the arrest of an executive of Sumiyoshikai, the upper organization, on a “minor” charge is a coincidence?

Could it be related to another case?

The current head of Sumiyoshikai is Shuji Ogawa, but the real leader is Hideyuki Kato, 78, the head of the Kohei family, followed by Kojima, a suspect in the Keio Kai. He also holds personnel authority over the main body of Sumiyoshi-kai, and the inheritance of a family heir was once decided with a single word of Kojima’s hand.

Although gang members have been arrested for playing golf or renting a car under another person’s name, some cases are not publicized because they are not big cases. Recently, the police have been very careful in their publicity regarding the Sumiyoshi-kai and the Kohei family, and it is a big appeal for the police to have seized a big name like the Kojima suspect.

Of course, I think it is safe to assume that this case is also related to the fact that the Metropolitan Police Department has set up a special task force to name the Kohei family as a countermeasure against Tokuryu. The Sumiyoshi-kai has a long history of using Tokuryu, as well as a thick pipeline of former Kanto Rengo-affiliated people. It is possible that this case came to light in the course of the investigation, which focused first on the Kohei family and then on the Sumiyoshikai,” said Yukio Ishihara, an underworld journalist.

Ishihara also said that Kojima’s arrest may be related to another case.

The cash robbery that took place in Okachimachi (Taito Ward, Tokyo) in January. In March, members of Yamaguchigumi, Sumiyoshikai, and Kyokutokai were arrested in this case in which 420 million yen in cash was robbed.

In fact, a similar incident, in which 1 billion yen was robbed on the way to exchange money, occurred in Hong Kong last December. In this case, a member of a mafia organization in Hong Kong called the Sanhekai was caught. Speaking of the Sanhekai, a senior member of the 14K organization exchanged brotherly sake with two Sumiyoshikai-affiliated executives at a hotel in Yamanashi Prefecture in the spring of 2011.

The suspect Kojima achieved his current position because of his earning power. It is unlikely that Kojima himself gave the order in his current position, but there is no possibility that someone below him who knew of his scheme did. However, as for the timing, it still seems more likely that this arrest is related to the investigation of the Kohei family.”

The gangs involved with Tokuryu are not limited to the Sumiyoshikai. The police have begun to show their “seriousness,” and other gangs may be getting nervous as well.

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