Yamaguchigumi gang feud blamed for 9 incidents

Japan’s police say they will crack down harder on the country’s largest yakuza syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi, and a rival splinter group, amid continuing incidents involving the 2 across the country.

9 such incidents have occurred in 6 prefectures over the last 10 days since the National Police Agency set up a special taskforce to crack down on the groups by saying they are in a state of gang war.

The taskforce was launched in response to an escalating series of incidents involving the groups since last August, when disgruntled members of the Yamaguchi-gumi formed a new group called the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi.

Among the 9 most recent incidents, bullets were fired into a gang office in one case, what appeared to be firebombs were thrown in in 2 others, and vehicles crashed into gang offices in 3 more.

Agency chief Masahito Kanetaka said at a news conference on Thursday that police across the country are making all-out efforts to protect citizens from gang violence. He added that they are working to weaken such organizations by arresting senior members and cutting supplies of their funds.

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Source and image: NHK