7/28/2005

Kyodo via Yahoo: Boss of Yamaguchi-gumi crime syndicate to be replaced—-The head of the Yamaguchi-gumi, a major Japanese crime syndicate, will retire and be succeeded by the group’s No. 2 man, police sources said Wednesday. The replacement of Yoshinori Watanabe, 64, with Kenichi Shinoda, 63, will be reported to the group’s extraordinary executive meeting in Kobe on Friday…

So the real question is: Was this an official crime syndicate press release or do the Japanese police handle all the corporate communications for the Yamaguchi-gumi?

You would think Japanese yakuza (やくざ) like boss Watanabe would want to keep a lower profile and not make such press release….but not the Japanese mob. They all have business cards with their mob title and affliation as well as spiffy lapel pins for their particular gang. As the Wiki says: “The yakuza can be understood in their feudal origin. First, they are not a secret society like their counterparts of the Italian mafia and Chinese triads. Yakuza always have an open office with a (wooden) board on the front door displaying their group name or their emblem.”
The retiring boss, Yoshinori Watanabe (渡辺 芳則 January 8, 1941 – ) is quite the famboyoant character with a love of the arts, theater and he’s an avid reader. He claims to he needs to “take a break” from his job. Soooo, he made this press release as the Kumicho of Fifth Yamaguchi-gumi to provide for, “an orderly, formal transfer of authority” to prevent “violent street battles between rival gangs jostling for power in the absence of a strong leader.” Whatta nice guy!