Yoshinori Watanabe
Encyclopedia
was a yakuza
, the fifth kumicho (chairman or Godfather) of the Yamaguchi-gumi
, Japan
's largest yakuza organization. He became kumicho in 1989. He was known for a more low-key approach than his predecessors, partly due to an Anti-Gang law passed in 1992. He retired in 2005.
in 1982, and became the head of Yamaguchi-gumi in July 1989, at a ceremony in Kobe attended by over 100 affiliated gang leaders.
His home and headquarters in Kobe
occupied the area of a city block, and was known to neighbours as "the castle." It was unscathed by the 1995 earthquake
, and under Watanabe's order the Yamaguchi-gumi claimed to have given away 1 billion yen of goods and 20,000 free lunches to survivors, although there were accusations that the motives were not wholly altruistic. Police estimated that he received $1 million USD a month from his aides in honoraria, and the full-time members of Yamaguchi-gumi had increased by one-third to 16,500 a decade after Watanabe took over. In November 2003, the Osaka High Court ordered that Watanabe and three others pay 80 million yen in damages for the killing of an off-duty policeman in 1995 by a Yamaguchi-gumi affiliate, and his appeal to the Supreme Court failed a year later. He retired from his position in July 2005, reportedly due to ill health.
in 1941, and had five siblings. He moved to Tokyo after graduating from high school. He was very private as kumicho, giving no media interviews. His interests are golf, weight-lifting, jogging and Chinese history.
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
, the fifth kumicho (chairman or Godfather) of the Yamaguchi-gumi
Yamaguchi-gumi
is Japan's largest and most infamous yakuza organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for dockworkers in Kobe pre-WWII....
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's largest yakuza organization. He became kumicho in 1989. He was known for a more low-key approach than his predecessors, partly due to an Anti-Gang law passed in 1992. He retired in 2005.
Yakuza career
In 1961, Watanabe spent a year in prison for possession of weapons, and he was again arrested in Osaka in the mid-70s for weapons possession. He became leader of Yamaken-gumiYamaken-gumi
is a yakuza gang based in Kobe, Japan. It is the largest affiliate of the largest known yakuza syndicate in Japan, the Yamaguchi-gumi, followed by the Nagoya-based Kodo-kai...
in 1982, and became the head of Yamaguchi-gumi in July 1989, at a ceremony in Kobe attended by over 100 affiliated gang leaders.
His home and headquarters in Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
occupied the area of a city block, and was known to neighbours as "the castle." It was unscathed by the 1995 earthquake
Great Hanshin earthquake
The Great Hanshin earthquake, or Kobe earthquake, was an earthquake that occurred on Tuesday, January 17, 1995, at 05:46 JST in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It measured 6.8 on the moment magnitude scale , and Mj7.3 on JMA magnitude scale. The tremors lasted for approximately 20...
, and under Watanabe's order the Yamaguchi-gumi claimed to have given away 1 billion yen of goods and 20,000 free lunches to survivors, although there were accusations that the motives were not wholly altruistic. Police estimated that he received $1 million USD a month from his aides in honoraria, and the full-time members of Yamaguchi-gumi had increased by one-third to 16,500 a decade after Watanabe took over. In November 2003, the Osaka High Court ordered that Watanabe and three others pay 80 million yen in damages for the killing of an off-duty policeman in 1995 by a Yamaguchi-gumi affiliate, and his appeal to the Supreme Court failed a year later. He retired from his position in July 2005, reportedly due to ill health.
Personal life
He was born in Tochigi PrefectureTochigi Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the Kantō region on the island of Honshū, Japan. The capital is the city of Utsunomiya.Nikkō, whose ancient Shintō shrines and Buddhist temples UNESCO has recognized by naming them a World Heritage Site, is in this prefecture...
in 1941, and had five siblings. He moved to Tokyo after graduating from high school. He was very private as kumicho, giving no media interviews. His interests are golf, weight-lifting, jogging and Chinese history.