Sides are being taken in Japan’s underworld.
Following a series of violent incidents in Kanto over the weekend, likely involving the Yamaguchi-gumi and its newly formed rival, the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, hostilities are continuing this week, reports TV Asahi (Mar. 3).
At approximately 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday, a vehicle plowed into the home of the chairman of a Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi affiliate in Asahikawa City, Hokkaido Prefecture.
The force of the vehicle crushed one of the building’s garage doors. Hokkaido police subsequently arrested Akira Matsubara, a member of the Kyokudo-kai, a Yamaguchi-gumi associate, on charges of inflicting property damage.
About one hour later, a two-ton truck rammed the office of a third-tier Yamaguchi-gumi affiliate in Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture. An exterior wall of the office received heavy damage, according to the Sankei Shimbun (Mar. 3).
Police are now looking for the driver of the vehicle, which is licensed in Chiba Prefecture.
There were no reports of injuries in either incident.
The incidents follow a number of similar skirmishes, including a shooting, that took place in Tokyo and Kanagawa and Saitama prefectures on Saturday and very likely involved both gangs.
The Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi formed last summer as a rival gang to the Kobe-based Yamaguchi-gumi. Police are believe that the incidents are a part of an ongoing feud that has developed between the two gangs.
Source: Tokyo Reporter Image: ANN
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