OF NO.2 MAN OF THE YAMAGUCHI GUMI GANG GROUP.
ALL KINDS OF CURIOUS PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME TO COMMENT ON THE RECENT SHOOTING
OF NO.2 MAN OF THE YAMAGUCHI GUMI GANG GROUP.
Ever since Masaru Takumi, the No. 2 man of the Yamaguchi Gumi Yakuza fami
ly, was shot to death by a group of 4 assassins at a hotel lobby in Kobe, I
have been getting so many calls from all sorts of people asking me to make s
ome comments on it. Come on. Why SHOULD I brief the mass media on the inci
dence? I don't want to help journalists make up their filler articles for 3
00-yen magazines, perhaps to be read over a cup of coffee.
I am no critic or commentator by trade. It really made me laugh when the
stupid black journalist (who wrote the article on my friend, Sei-ichi Wada,
solely on the basis of one-sided information leaked by the police) challenge
d me by saying, "Aren't you one of us, journalists?" Give me a break, man.
I am too sensible to be part of them.
How will this incidence develop? What repurcussions will it have in the
Yakuza circles? Nobody knows. The members of the "Y" family may be the one
s who are most perplexed. As in other sectors of our society, things have c
hanged so much lately in the Yakuza world that casual predictions are most l
ikely to be baffled. Why it's been changed so much? It's primarily because
of that notorious Anti-Gangster Law. I personally anticipate that more bloo
d-shedding will have to take place between conflicting groups before seeing
a light at the other side of the tunnel; but, it's also true that they are n
ot necessarily 100% resolute to risk their lives in an all-out war. Having
resorted to the conventional "stabilizing system", they are feeling quite un
easy, and not certain at all how far they will have to go before they can st
op themselves. Anyhow, I guess you "ordinary citizens" will have little to
do with whatever may happen in the underground world. Right? Or are you af
raid to be hit by a stray bullet? Chances of your being hit are very low, i
n fact much lower than the chances of losing all your savings or job as a re
sult of your banks or employer going under. You would be much better off wi
th other concerns, not worrying about stray bullets.
So I was originally going to advise you descent people to leave Yakuza al
one and seek your pastime elsewhere. But I changed my mind to let you share
what I know, because many newspaper articlues on this shooting incidence tot
ally missed the point and were full of BULLSHITS.
I just can't figure out what the writer of this newspaper article THE MAINICHI.(translator's note: this part was origin
ally linked to another page which showed an article appearing in one of the
national newspapers on Sept. 8, 1997) is trying to convey to us? Can you?
The article takes a pharisaic stand by deploring the undiminished Yakuza fam
ilies, their activities and what not. Generally speaking, I rate this newsp
aper as one of the LEAST UNREASONABLE national papers, yet their pen doesn't
unveil much of what's really going on underground or behind the scenes. I d
o not see the point of this article at all. Let me give a piece of advice t
o all my dearest news reporters out there. If you have nothing worthy of sp
ecial mention, why don't you just REMAIN SILENT, rather than churning up inn
ocent readers with what those journalist guys call 'findings'.
The important thing here is what the police used to say when the Anti-Gan
gster Law was brought into effect back in 1991. (If you cannot recall it, f
orget your business of worrying about the " Y family's future". I'm sorry
but I can't afford to spare my time for you.)
The police declared at that time, "This new law will completely eradicate
the hotbed of gangster orgaizations." Remember? And the statement made by
Mr. Takumi had made in his testimony at a hearing held by Hyogo prefecture's
public safety commission on the Anti-Gangster Law was certainly prophetic of
what happened this time, "The enforcement of such a law will bring about a l
ot of back-stabbing among Yakuzas." It's a pity that Takumi happened to pro
ve it himself (literally, he was shot in the back of his head). The former
head of Kyoto-based Aizu Kotetsu-kai group, one of the anti-Yamaguchi Gumi g
roups, Tokutaro Takayama, had also warned of the danger with a similar state
ment. Now, you know which, the police or Yakuza, was correct in predicting f
uture. If you really wanna know more about this, I advise you to go over ag
ain what Yakuzas were saying back then. Also my book, "Toppamono,"
(now available only
in Japanese) will give you some insights on this.Although major gang organizations had gone to court with a claim that the
Anti-Gangster Law was unconstitutional, the Y family dropped their suit imm
ediately after the Great Hanshin Earthquakes of 1995. If you don't understa
nd what I'm talking about, take a good read of the last chapter of my book a
gain.
On the 28th of January that year, I believe it was, they decided to drop
the case. Takumi mentioned then, "If we force the case ahead, it may cause
our family to break up," "What truly bothers me is the fact that the decisi
on we made on the 28th somehow reached the police the same day," he added.
The Nakano Gumi family, which itself was one of the major sub-families of
Yamaguchi Gumi and suspected to have sent the hit men this time, is said to
have been the one that most strongly insisted on backing down from the suit.
You may wonder why the Y family decided or, HAD TO decide, to back down i
n the midst of the flurries following the Earthquakes. It's BECAUSE at that
time a series of testifiers were scheduled to appear in court to spell out,
with reference to such subjects as "Yakuza and Buraku discrimination (discri
mination against the "untouchables" in the Japanese covert caste system)" an
d "Yakuza and Koreans resident in Japan," how the discriminative structure
of the Japanese society has in fact played a major role in spawning Yakuza.
The Y family was really serious in their attemps to fight against the Anti-G
angster Law, having hired about 100 LAWYERS!
Such testimonies would have given a great impact on even those dupes in
mass media and among intellectuals, by enlightening them on the true picture
of the matter.
So the authorities were dying to put a stop to them. (You still don't ge
t what I'm driving at? You must be one of those dupes. I'll leave you alone.)
OK, here is a hint for you. The key is that the relationship bewteen the
police and the Y family could be compared to that which exists between the r
uling party and nongovernment parties in the national politics.
The consequence of the enactment of the Anti-Gangster Law was the creatio
n of an oligopolistic situation in the Yakuza society where many smaller gro
ups elected to come under the umbrella of the Y family for survival reasons.
And it also made all the gang organizations around the country go undergrou
nd. Unlike most gang organizations overaseas, Japanese gangsters were tradi
tionally of overt existence, but now they have begun to take a more covert p
rofile. I would say it's only natural because when one is labeled as a memb
er of a "gang organization," he is destined to persistent harrassments by th
e police. It was under these circumstances that foreign gangs rushed into J
apan to take advantage of the unguarded moment. Has the Law contibuted to
improving the "arrest rate" or decreasing the number of crimes committed eve
r since, as the police told us it would? Hell, NO! Crimes are rampant.
In some (many ?) cases, crimes are committed on a grand scale with police ol
d boys being essential part of them. The Ajinomoto case* is only a tip of t
he iceberg. [*Note: This is a case where a cop-turned manager of the Gener
al Affairs Dept. of Ajinomoto, the manufacture of the famous condiment of th
e same name, was accused of having paid payola or hush money to Sokaiya (pro
fessional blackmailers who attempt to extort money from companies by threate
ning to cause trouble at the general meeting (SOKAI) for stcokholders).]
It looks like the smart bureaucrats who drafted the Law in real earnest h
ave ended up creating new concessions for their senior colleagues. Or that
could be the real objective of the Law from the beginning. No, it couldn't
be. I would believe that they were serious and earnest in devising the Law.
But if that was the case, it would be even more frightening to me.
The police bureaucrats are now preparing a yet another bill called the "A
nti-Origanized Crime Law" which is expected to legalize "wiretapping" and "
judicial bargaining." [Note: In Japan, almost all bills are prepared by the
hands of bureaucrats, and there is very little legislation by the Diet membe
rs.] Far from admitting the inefficacy of their exsiting Anti-Gangster Law
, they say, like their brothers at the Ministry of Finance, "The existing la
w is too lenient. We are seeking a further way of tightening the security o
f our society." The mass media will most likely fall into the trap the poli
ce is laying for them. There is no doubt that what we will be seeing at the
advent of the new Law will be ever more expanded police concessions, whether
or not it is intended by our civil servants. The police already have a corr
upt give-and-take relationship with the Yakuza industry, while, at the same
time, never forgetting to push them to the wall. So, never believe the mas
s media that fail to point out this official corruption, or else you'll be M
ISLED by them.
It appears that the time has come when all established organizations and
institutions, in order to sustain their own life and protect their interests
, choose to batten on those who they are supposed to be serving. Look at wh
at 's happening at schools, banks, major newspaper publishing companies, and
even your own company.
Our society somehow tolerates the police that professes to "protect citiz
ens" yet is far more aggressive in securing concessions than Yakuza. And it
falls under my definition of a world of new FASCISM. To me, a society that
makes rotten things look clean with deodorizers is much spookier than the on
e where people accept to live with putrid smells.
Well, that is about it for today. I am now in the Kansai area doing a littl
e business of mine, so I've got to put down my pen now. Hope to see you again.
Oh, there's one thing I wanna tell ya before I forget. A friend of mine tol
d me that my name is mentioned in "SHUUKAN-KINYOBI", a Japanese weekly magaz
ine bent on championing "citizens". He added, "it looks like you are being
well spoken in it." I just can't believe it. It must be some kind of mista
ke. It makes me feel really uneasy and awkard.
Why? Because I know I am not a kind of person worthy of any laudatory remar
ks from law-abiding citizens. I am diagonally opposite to those people. If
everybody in this society shared outlaw-oriented values similar to mine, it
would certainly make me feel jumpy. (^^)
(Sept. 7)
I have recently written an article similar to the above for the MSN News "Po
wer Column".
They asked me to write instandard Japanese. I hate writing in standard Japanese, because it makes me
tired (Translator's note: the writer's vernacular is Kansai dialect which i
s somewhat different from the standard Japanese). If you are interested. G
o ahead and read it! Humh?
That black journalist is also contributing to that column? Oh, weeeell, don
't bother. I am sensible enough to respect the FREEDOM OF SPEECH of someone
who I even don't like. I will designate a field of honor elsewhere. Ha, ha.
IF YOU ARE READY TO PAY OUT OF YOUR OWN POCKET, THEN WHY DON'T YOU...
Buy this WEEKLY PLAYBOY magazine (Japanese)at a Kiosk or convenience store? You
will find comments made by 4 persons referred to as A, B, C and D, which in
clude person(s) in the underground world and critic(s), all of whom I know.
I am one of those commentators, of course. (^o^)
ONLY THOSE WHO ARE PREPARED TO USE THEIR OWN HEADS ARE QUALIFIED TO PROCEED
BEYOND THIS.
Well, can I assume that you have already read the Sept. 30th issue of the We
ekly Playboy magazine (Japanese)?
● Haven't read it, so I'm GOING BACK.
● Have read it, so I'm GOING AHEAD.
Probably you'd be better off without knowing what's really going on in the u
nderground world. I would rather suggest that you stay away from the troubl
e of somebody else's family, unless you have something to do with it, or els
e your life is in danger in relation to this gang battle. Whether you want
it or not, however, the consequence following this shooting will probably af
fect your life some way or other. What do you think you will personally do
about it?
Only those who are determined to do something about it some way or other sho
uld proceed with this.
Otherwise, you should stop here and go back to your tranquil life. I really
mean it.
● Go Back.
(I respect your honesty)
● Still, I wanna know and read more about it. (Are you sure?)
Ooh-ke-ey. Since you have come this far, you should probably be entitled t
o know a bit more.
But you've got to clear a few more hurdles before you are able to read it.
Once there was a revolutionist who said something to the effect that you sho
uld abstain from speaking before you have made sufficient research. So let
me ask you the following, assuming that you should know:
Out of the following 3 choices, choose the date on which Mr. Takumi was shot
at a hotel lobby in Kobe.
● September 1st
● August 31st
● August 28th
September 1st ? It is the anniversary day of the Great Kanto Earthquakes th
at hit the Tokyo area 75 years ago. At that time, many Koreans and socialis
t activists were killed in the aftermath of the quakes. If you really belie
ve that the police will protect the security of your life (having entirely f
orgotten what had happened ), you must be really soft-headed or you must be
one of those "sanitized citizens." (^o^)
● I'm sorry.
● Shut up! Leave me alone.
August 31st ? Wrong. That's the day when Takumi's funeral took place.
You don't seem to be familiar with such a basic fact, why don't you go home?
● No, I still wanna go ahead.
Well, I'm sorry, but it's quite out of the question if you have made a mista
ke at this stage.
I advise you to go over the articles on the incidence again.
Have you done your homework? OK.
It is said that, the day or two days after that assasination, the head of th
e Nakano Gumi family, which was alleged to have sent the hit men, reported h
imself to the police and told them that he had never ordered the assasinatio
n nor been personally involved in any way in the assasination, although the
circumstances suggested a possible involvment of his family members. (note:
Nagano-gumi belonged to the Yamaguchi Gumi group but was "expelled" after th
e shooting of Takumi. Then, the implicit rule of the Yakuza world tells tha
t the other families in the group could "openly wage war" on Nakano Gumi in
retaliation, if it was obvious that Nakano Gumi really killed Takumi.)
It should be clear to anybody that, had the police arrested the family chief
then, there would have been no subsquent shootouts between the battling grou
ps (because the Yamaguchi Gumi would not have been able to touch the man und
er police custody) nor would have been any need for many cops to go out to g
uard the offices of both families.
Isn't it?
Do you know what this means? If you don't, THINK hard.
Readers of my book should know that "when the police suspect a trace of Yaku
za involvement, they can and/or will arrest the Yakuza in any way they want.
" I know it because I learned it through my own bitter experience with them.
Strangely, however, the police let Mr. Nakano go home immediately, depite th
e fact that he admitted a possible involvement of his men in an incidence of
this great social impact.
You should wonder WHY the police did so. Can you figure out WHY?
OK, here's a tip-off：
Place yourself in the position of a senior official of the security police. Then what would YOU do?
● I don't bother to give it a thought.
● My brain is too muddy. I can't figure it out.
● I tried but can't figure it out.
● Don't keep me in suspense, but let me know it at once.
● EUREKA !!
Muggy today, isn't it? Shall we continue?
The hint was to point out why the police don't do what they could do to impr
ove the situation.
That is, if the police were really serious in stopping the "strife", they co
uld do so by physicall restraining Nakano. Arresting a person is not such a
difficult thing. The law says that one may be put under arrest only in cert
ain cases such as a case of "potential escape" or "potential destruction of
evidence". But there have been hundreds and thousands of drivers who were a
rrested on the spot when they reported to the police after traffic accidents
involving death of a person. And the police claim such arrest to be "protec
ion of the person". So, they could have "PROTECTED" Mr. Nakano and could "PROTECT" him even now.
Now you know the police is not interested in quelling the strife at all. Wh
at they are really driving at is to pass the bill of "Anti-Organized Crime L
aw" at the National Diet.
I will speak about the real aim of this bill at a panel discussion schedule
for Oct. 21st at the Kand Panse Hall.
The bill, in a nutshell, allows the police to "TAP TELEPHONE, INTERNET MAIL
AND FAX AS LONG AS THE PURPOSE OF TAPPING SERVES TO WRECK GANG ORGANIZATIONS"
The bill of "Anti Gangster Law" was passed by a unanimous vote; however, it
is expected this time that the Communist Party will vote against the bill of
the Anti-Organized Crime Law as they have been subjected to wiretapping by t
he police. Also the Social Democratic Party and Democratic Socialist Party
are quite likely to stand against the bill.
Under the present government coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party, Soci
al Democratic Party and SAKIGAKE (literally meaning "forerunners" or "trailblazers"), the bill is less likely to be passed with the ease of the previous
bill, Anti-Gangster Law.
The legal bureaucrats would be very happy if there was a situation where the
y could show the public how bad the gangsters are, to the extent that it aro
uses the citizens' general concern against the existence of gangsters in our
society.
Bureaucrats, whether they are rank and files or high-ranking officials, are
creatures that "live for producing laws."
As long as the laws of their creation contribute to the betterment of our pe
ople, they should be commended for doing a good job. But, recently, people
on the street have come to notice that our society has become very suffocati
ng as a result of tons of unnecessary laws and regulations binding our life
in all aspects.
Under these situations, the bureaucrats are now more interested to locate th
eir "raison d'etre" in their quest for an effective way of how they could PA
SS the laws they have made, rather than how they could MAKE GOOD LAWS.
Making good laws naturally takes the effort and ability to look deep into th
e problems, make thorough research and field work. But, unfortunately, thes
e are something that those feeble bureaucrats (mostly graduates of the Toky
o University Law School, who did nothing but studying textbooks in their ado
lescence and have been out of touch with the REAL world ever since) are leas
t capable of doing.
So you would be fooling yourself if you expected them to lay down any better
laws than the ones that THEY BELIEVE SHOULD WORK ACCORDING TO THEIR OWN THEORIES. The stupidity of bureaucrats is easily demonostrated. Look what happ
ened after the enforcement of the Anti-Gangster Law and the introduction of
the pre-paid card system into pachiko parlors across the nation, which, the
police then arrogantly declared, would eradicate the gang organizations. Ar
e we now living in a gangster-free society?
The name of the game being played by those power-mad bureaucrat jerks is HOW THEY CAN PASS THE BILL.
The jerks believe that they are entitled to do ANTHING to pass the bill. Pa
rticularly at a time when politics is not properly functioning, the politici
ans, who don't know from the beginning what they themselves are talking abou
t, are no match for the "smart" bureaucrats. NO WAY. So this is a golden o
pportunity for the jerks.
he bill of Anti-Organized Crimes Law passed at the Diet where the Liberal De
mocratic Party (the party in power) lacks a majority in the Upper House. T
o me, it appears they are wasting our tax.
Unless there is some change in the schedule, the bill will be introduced to
the Diet aroud October 20.
Just suppose that the Yamaguchi Gumi strife reaches its peak just prior to t
he introduction of the bill and takes a toll of one or two lives of ordinary
citizens embroiled in shootouts. It will be as plain as day that there will
be a concerted denuciation by the mass media against organaized crimes. And
I am sure there are people somewhere up there who are brewing that plot.
It will be a cinch for bureaucracy, which is the true cabal behind the polit
icians, to outsmart and steer the mass media of this country. The mass medi
a's business is to make a big fuss over a trifle and cash in on what they fa
n into national heat. Take a look at the recent replacement of the newly ap
pointed Director General of the Priminister's Office, Koko Sato, who was fou
nd guilty in the Lockheed bribery case some time ago. Remember how much ene
rgy the mass media exerted upon reporting the incidence? They should know t
he replacement of Sato with another one would make no difference in what we
can expect from the now much-talked-about Administrative Reform---nothing.
The mass media is only concerned with the circulation and sales. Do not tak
e seriously what they say, or you will be a SUCKER.
A frightening story is that there is yet another aim hidden behind the plot
being devised by the bureaucrats.
Do you want me to tell you about the hidden aim?
I could tell you now, but I want you to come to a panel discussion titled "B
ATTLE TALK--AUTUMN FORMATION" slated for 6:00 PM, October 21 at Kanda Pansee.
Don't forget to pay the admission charge, 100 yen.
There you will have an opportunity to determine for yourself which is right,
the "public opinion" that the major newspapers represent or what I have been
saying.
I'll see those of you there who wanna know more about this. Till then, tak
e it easy.
Oh, I am also going to speak at another panel to be held at LOFT PLUS ONE i
n Shinjuku on Sept. 29.
● END
traanslated by triking@db3.so-net.or.jp