Yamaguchi-gumi

The Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi (Japanese: 六代目山口組 Rokudaime Yamaguchi-gumi) is Japan's largest and most famous yakuza organization.

It is widely believed to be the largest criminal organization in the world. Estimates put the number of active members at just over 39,000, with thousands more having strong associations. It is, by far, the largest of the boryokudan groups, and its membership encompasses roughly 45% of the 87,000 yakuza in the Japanese underworld.Formal members of the Yamaguchi-gumi are 102 total people (1 kumicho, 15 shatei (younger brother) and 86 wakachu (child)) as of November, 2005.

The Yamaguchi-gumi are among the world's wealthiest gangsters, bringing in billions of dollars a year from extortion, gambling, the sex industry, guns, drugs, and real estate and construction kickback schemes. They are also involved in stock market manipulation and Internet pornography.

The Yamaguchi-gumi has its headquarters in Kobe, Japan, but it operates all across Japan, and also has overseas operations in Asia and the United States. Despite more than a decade of police crackdowns, their numbers have been growing. And its current kumicho (Godfather), Shinobu Tsukasa, has declared an expansionist policy -- even making inroads into Tokyo, traditionally not Yamaguchi turf.

Leadership

*1st (1915-1925) kumicho: Harukichi Yamaguchi
*2nd (1925-1942) kumicho: Noboru Yamaguchi - son of Harukichi Yamaguchi
*3rd (1946-1981) kumicho: Kazuo Taoka

After the death of Taoka, the heir apparent Kenichi Yamamoto (kumicho of the Yamaken-gumi) was serving a sentence in prison. He, however, died of liver failure shortly afterwards. Fumiko Taoka, Kazuo Taoka's wife, stepped forward to fill the leadership void until a new kumicho could be selected by a council of eight top-level bosses.

Finally, in 1984, the elders chose Masahisa Takenaka (kumicho of the Takenaka-gumi) to be the 4th kumicho of Yamaguchi-gumi. One of the other contenders, Hiroshi Yamamoto (kumicho of the Yamahiro-gumi), broke away from Yamaguchi-gumi with more than 10,000 of its members to form the Ichiwa-kai. A bitter rivalry existed between the two groups, which led to an all-out war (the Yama-Ichi War) after the Ichiwa-kai's 1985 assassination of Takenaka. During the war, Kazuo Nakanishi (kumicho of the Nakanishi-gumi) briefly took the leadership role until 1989.
*4th (1984-1985) kumicho: Masahisa Takenaka
*5th (1989-2005) kumicho: Yoshinori Watanabe
*6th (2005-) kumicho: Shinobu Tsukasa (real name: Kenichi Shinoda)

In 1997, then powerful wakagashira (underboss) Masaru Takumi was assassinated by underlings of then wakagashira-hosa (deputy underboss) Taro Nakano. After this assassination, they were unable to choose a new wakagashira for more than 8 years and as a result leadership of organization became weaker. Finally, in 2005, wakagashira-hosa Shinobu Tsukasa (then kumicho of Hirota-gumi) was chosen as new wakagashira and shortly afterwards, in August 2005, Tsukasa inherited the position of the 6th boss of the Yamaguchi-gumi. Watanabe has retired to private life, which is rather uncommon in their world, as bosses usually do not retire until their death. Under Tsukasa's leadership, the 6th Yamaguchi-gumi has resumed expansion. They absorbed the Tokyo-based gang Kokusui-kai, thus acquiring lucrative turf in the capital. Tsukasa was imprisoned in December 2005, and is currently serving a six-year sentence.

Current top leaders

kumicho - Shinobu Tsukasa
wakagashira - Kiyoshi Takayama (kaicho of the Second Kodo-kai, and sosai of the Second Takayama-gumi)
shateigashira - Tetsuo Nogami (leader of Osaka-kita block, and kumicho of the Second Yoshikawa-gumi)
saiko-komon - Saizo Kishimoto (shatei, leader of Hanshin block, and kumicho of the Kishimoto-gumi)
saiko-komon - Kazuyoshi Kudo (shatei, and 4th kaicho of the Kokusui-kai)
komon - Shoroku Ishida (shatei, and kaicho of the Shoyu-kai)
komon - Takao Oishi (shatei, and kumicho of the Oishi-gumi)
komon - Kazumi Nishiwaki (shatei, and kumicho of the Nishiwaki-gumi)
komon - Akiharu Ozaki (shatei, and kaicho of the Shimpuku-kai)
sohonbucho - Tadashi Irie (leader of Osaka-naka block, and kumicho of the Second Takumi-gumi)
wakagashira-hosa - Takashi Takizawa (shatei, leader of Kanto-Hokkaido block, and socho of the Horyo-kai)
wakagashira-hosa - Hirofumi Hashimoto (leader of Osaka-minami block, and kaicho of the Kyokushin-rengokai)
wakagashira-hosa - Kazuhiko Suzuki (kaicho of the Kyokudo-kai)
wakagashira-hosa - Osamu Teraoka (leader of Chushikoku block, and kaicho of the Kyoyu-kai)
wakagashira-hosa - Chihiro Aoyama (leader of Kyushu block, and kumicho of the Second Izu-gumi)