Saturday, August 27, 2005

Yakuza change of power

I'm kind of fascinated by the Japanese underworld syndicates, so here are a couple of articles about the recent change in leadership of the Yamaguchi-gumi.

CNN: Report: New head for Japan gang

The Yamaguchi-gumi, already Japan's largest syndicate, grew by 1,100 to 39,200 last year and comprised 45.1 percent of Japan's total underworld members.
Kyodo (by way of Japan Today): Largest yakuza gang holds 'change of power' ceremony

Kenichi Shinoda, the Yamaguchi-gumi's No. 2 man, formally became the sixth boss of Japan's largest crime syndicate in a ceremony held Saturday at its headquarters in Kobe. The ceremony, marking the first change of power for the Yamaguchi-gumi in 16 years, was attended by some 100 leaders and members of affiliated groups nationwide, police said.

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