Kiyoshi Takayama
Kiyoshi Takayama (髙山 清司, Takayama Kiyoshi, born September 5, 1947[1] in Tsushima, Aichi[2]) is a yakuza, the founding head of the Nagoya-based Takayama-gumi, the president of the 2nd Kodo-kai, and the number-two boss (wakagashira) of the 6th Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest known yakuza syndicate in Japan.[3]
Takayama is a prominent yakuza, who has even been dubbed the "nation's number-two gangster"[4], and is informally dubbed the "Katame of Nagoya" or simply the "Katame" meaning "one eye", after his closed right eye possibly as a result of a lethal fight in his early yakuza career — reportedly from a sword fighting injury.[5]
Takayama has been considered the key person in the entire history of the Kodo-kai and behind the sixth Yamaguchi-gumi, being kept under close surveillance by the National Police Agency. The National Police Agency once distributed a report on its operations against the Yamaguchi-gumi to every police department across the country, which had a special section devoted to him and even made reference to his personality.[6]
Career
Takayama entered the underworld in his teenage years,[7] and his career as a yakuza officially began at the age of 20 when he joined the 3rd Sasaki-gumi, a Yamaguchi-gumi clan based in Nagoya. The Sasaki-gumi was a sub organization of the Nagoya-based Hirota-gumi (later known as the Kodo-kai), and in 1969, four members of a Hirota-affiliated clan were murdered by a Kobe-based yakuza syndicate. Along with two other Hirota members (one being Shinobu Tsukasa), he was convicted of murdering the boss of a clan of the syndicate. After spending 4 years in prison, he was released in 1973,[3] becoming the number-two boss (wakagashira) of the Sasaki-gumi in 1975.[7] In 1976 when he was promoted to the managing director (rijicho) of the Sasaki-gumi, he founded his own organization, the Takayama-gumi.[3]
Road to the Kobe
Shinobu Tsukasa formed the Kodo-kai as the successor to the Hirota-gumi in 1984 after the Hirota-gumi disbanded due to its boss' retirement. Following this, Takayama became the number-three (wakagashira-hosa) of the Kodo-kai, and after his achievements at the Yama-Ichi War, he became the number-two (wakagashira) in 1989, starting a radical reform of the Kodo-kai and forcing many "unwelcome" members including the senior managers into retirement.[3] He succeeded as the president (kaicho) of the Kodo-kai in March 2005 when Tsukasa was promoted to the Yamaguchi-gumi's provisional number-two (wakagashira), entering the Kobe headquarters of the Yamaguchi-gumi, as a senior manager (jikisan).[2]
The sixth wakagashira
Takayama had rapidly been promoted in the headquarters of the Yamaguchi-gumi, and following Tsukasa's assumption of the leadership of the Yamaguchi-gumi, in 2005, he flew the number-two position (wakagashira) at the largest known yakuza syndicate only four months after his entrance into its headquarters.[2] The wakagashira post had been vacant since 1997 when the fifth wakagashira, Masaru Takumi, was assassinated.[8] In 2008, under his dominating influence, the headquarters purged a total of nine "big names" from the syndicate, including Tadamasa Goto as the head of the Goto-gumi, and forced two into temporary suspension, resulting in causing some serious controversies in the entire Yamaguchi-gumi community.[3]
Also in this year, 2008, it was noted that Takayama, as the Yamaguchi-gumi's wakagashira, attended the funeral of Hideo Mizoshita, the third president of the Kudo-kai. The Kudo-kai was a Kyushu-based independent syndicate known as the leading member of an anti-Yamaguchi federation, and he attended this historic funeral as the deputy leader of the Yamaguchi-gumi while the actual leader Tsukasa was in prison.[9]
Meanwhile in Nagoya, by late 2009, the Kodo-kai's membership had reached 4,000. Originally started with just 25 members, the clan grew to an exceedingly powerful, 4,000-member organization within only 26 years, as noted in the National Police Agency's anti-Yamaguchi strategy report distributed in 2009, and this rapid growth, as an "astounding success", was largely attributed to Takayama.[6]
Arrest
In November 2010, Takayama, as the "de facto leader of the Yamaguchi-gumi"[10], was arrested on suspicion of extorting more than US$400,000 from a businessman in the construction industry.[11] "If Takayama is successfully prosecuted it will be devastating for the Yamaguchi-gumi, and could even spark a war for control of the organisation," said Jake Adelstein.[12] This arrest came shortly before the top, Shinobu Tsukasa, was due to be released from prison,[13] and soon after this, in December, the number-three boss of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Tadashi Irie, was also arrested.[14]
Controversy
At the time of the arrest, the victim was reported to be just a 65-year-old man engaged in the construction business,[15] however several doubts had been cast about his true identity, as he did not seem to be a "decent civilian" (katagi); he was reported to be an influential figure in Kyoto's raw concrete industry, and a senior manager of a buraku organization based in Kyoto, who allegedly had a connection with the Yamaken-gumi or even been a member of this Yamaguchi-gumi clan. Yamaken-gumi had been a major internal rival of the Kodo-kai especially since Takayama and Tsukasa joined the headquarters of the Yamaguchi-gumi. Also, the person had allegedly worked as a corporate blackmailer, besides, he had at least one blatant criminal record; he had been convicted of murdering some Korean person in a conflict in his young years.[16] The person's name was later revealed to be Tohbeh Ueda by himself. He was the president of the Kyoto-based buraku organization "Liberal Dowa Association Kyoto", who had been considered a "tycoon" in Kyoto's buraku community.[17] One theory suggests that there was a internal conflict in the Yamaguchi-gumi over the "Kyoto concession(s)" behind the arrest.[18] Many believe that it was highly unlikely for Takayama to make such a "cheap blunder" like that, for a relatively small amount of money (for Takayama). Many believe the Yamaken conspiracy theory, but Takayama has kept silent about the situation.
See also
References
- ^ The Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi Complete Databook 2008 Edition, p.115, 1 February 2009, Mediax, ISBN 978-4-86201-358-3 Template:Ja icon
- ^ a b c The Outline of the Yamaguchi-gumi, p.230, Kenji Ino, December 2008, Chikumashobo Ltd., ISBN 978-4-480-06463-9 Template:Ja icon
- ^ a b c d e "Kiyoshi Takayama", Yakuza Wiki Template:Ja icon
- ^ "Nation's No. 2 gangster arrested", November 19, 2010, Yomiuri Shimbun
- ^ "FEATURE: Japan gets tough on ‘yakuza’ gangs", January 23, 2011, Taipei Times
- ^ a b "The "Top Operations" for destroying the Yamaguchi-gumi Kodo-kai, arresting from the kumicho to the number 3", December 17, 2010, Weekly Friday Template:Ja icon
- ^ a b "Police's 'Yamaguchi-gumi Cleanup Operation' behind the O-zumo's 'Baseball Gambling'", July 1, 2010, Gendai Business Template:Ja icon
- ^ "Into the Yamaguchi-gumi's 'total domination' of the underworld", September 10, 2008, Monthly Central Journal, Central News Bank Template:Ja icon
- ^ The Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi Complete Databook 2008 Edition : "The funeral of the Fourth Kudo-kai Honorary Adviser Hideo Mizoshita" (p.192–197), 1 February 2009, Mediax, ISBN 978-4-86201-358-3 Template:Ja icon
- ^ "Osaka Police Nab Another Yakuza Boss as Crackdown Continues", December 1, 2010, The Wall Street Journal
- ^ "'Top gangster' arrested in Japan", November 18, 2010, BBC
- ^ "Yakuza chief arrested in Japan", November 18, 2010, The Guardian
- ^ "Top Yakuza crime boss arrested in Japan", November 18, 2010, The Daily Telegraph
- ^ "Police anti-gang drive in trouble", December 11, 2010, Asahi Shimbun
- ^ "Japan arrests number two crime boss", November 18, 2010, Sydney Morning Herald
- ^ "Increasing dangerousness of the Yamaguchi-gumi's internal conflicts after the Elimination Strategy (The Commissioner General)" 2/2, Atsushi Mizoguchi, December 19, 2010, Gendai Business Template:Ja icon
- ^ "The reason why the buraku organization president Tohbeh Ueda accused the Yamaguchi-gumi wakagashira", Hirotoshi Ito, December 16, 2010, Gendai Business Template:Ja icon
- ^ "The background of the arrest of the wakagashira Kiyoshi Takayama, is a fierce conflict for the 'Kyoto concession'!", November 25, 2010, Gendai Business Template:Ja icon