The Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan’s largest yakuza syndicate, has pledged to end its ongoing conflict with the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, a splinter group, promising to cease all internal fighting and refrain from further disturbances. This truce follows years of violent clashes between the two groups, spurred by a 2015 split and intensified by increased police scrutiny. The declaration comes amidst a broader decline in yakuza membership, reaching record lows in recent years. However, the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi’s response remains unknown, and authorities will continue to monitor both groups closely.
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Takeshi Ebisawa, a Yakuza leader, pleaded guilty to trafficking weapons-grade nuclear material from Myanmar, intending to sell it to fund an arms deal for a Burmese insurgent group. This illicit operation also involved the trafficking of significant quantities of heroin and methamphetamine to the United States in exchange for surface-to-air missiles. Ebisawa’s activities, spanning from 2020, involved a sting operation resulting in the seizure of weapons-grade plutonium and uranium. He faces up to 20 years in prison for his crimes.
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In a world that already seems filled with enough chaos and danger, the news of the U.S. Attorney announcing nuclear materials trafficking charges against a Japanese Yakuza leader is like a plot twist ripped straight out of a cyberpunk thriller. The idea that criminal organizations like the Yakuza would dabble in something as terrifying as nuclear materials is both shocking and frightening. It makes you wonder – was the lure of extra money really worth the risk of angering a global superpower like the United States?
The mere thought of nuclear materials being trafficked by groups like the Yakuza is enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine.… Continue reading
John Q. Hosedrinker