After being condemned to death for ordering a murder and attacks on people, a Japanese crime boss delivered a chilling warning to a judge. After denying being behind the brutal assaults on average citizens, Yakuza mafia leader Satoru Nomura, 74, warned the judge, "You will regret this for the rest of your life."
Despite Japanese media reports to the contrary, Nomura, the leader of the 'Kudo-kai' crime syndicate in the country's southwest, was convicted guilty of the series of historic attacks. Although the Fukuoka District Court acknowledged that Nomura had been condemned to death, Japanese media reported that there was no concrete proof tying him to the crimes.
Per Sky News, the Kudo-kai is the main yakuza group in Kitakyushu and is known for its military-style tactics, which include the use of machine guns and hand grenades. Yakuza - gangster in English - have long been accepted in Japan as a necessary evil for maintaining order on the streets, but a crackdown on gangs, along with decreasing societal tolerance and a poor economy, has resulted in a decline in the number of yakuza.
Japan's first crime boss to face death sentence
According to the BBC, this is the first time a top yakuza member has been sentenced to death. The court, however, stated that the gang functioned under such stringent regulations that it was unimaginable that assaults could have been carried out without the permission of its boss.
Between 1998 and 2014, Kudo-kai members were accused of carrying out assaults, Daily Mail reported. During that period, a former leader of a fishing cooperative was shot and killed, and three others were injured by gunshot or stabbing, including a nurse and a former police officer.
According to the Kyodo news agency, Nomura's defense attorneys want to appeal the judgment. Fumio Tanoue, Nomura's number two, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Tuesday. The yakuza mafia has long been tolerated in Japan as a necessary evil for maintaining order on the streets and completing tasks swiftly, regardless of the methods used.
However, in recent decades, yakuza membership has progressively declined due to tighter anti-gang legislation, declining societal tolerance, and a failing economy. According to major media agencies, Nomura was found guilty of ordering the deadly shooting of an ex-boss of a fishing cooperative who had sway over port building projects in 1998.
Crime boss involved with several attacks in Japan
According to the court, he was also responsible for a 2014 attack on a relative of the murder victim, as well as a 2013 knife attack on a nurse at a clinic where Nomura was receiving treatment. The crime boss was also blamed for the 2012 shooting of a former police officer who was investigating the Kudo-kai. According to reports, the official survived with significant injuries to his waist and legs.
Prosecutors allegedly said Nomura had complete authority over the syndicate. The mafia grew from a multi-billion-dollar criminal organization involved in everything from drugs and prostitution to protection rackets and white-collar crime during the turmoil of postwar Japan.
Unlike the Italian Mafia or the Chinese triads, the yakuza have long existed in the shadows of Japanese society; they are not illegal, and each group maintains its headquarters in plain sight of the authorities.
With over 100 people on death row, Japan is one of the few affluent countries that still use the death sentence. Despite worldwide condemnation, particularly from human rights organizations, public support for capital punishment remains strong, as per METRO.
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