Head of crime syndicate killed in street shooting in Fukuoka

Aug 18 09:45 AM US/Eastern


FUKUOKA, Aug. 18 (AP) - (Kyodo)—A gang leader was shot on a street in a residential area of Chuo Ward in Fukuoka City on Saturday evening and was later pronounced dead at a hospital, Fukuoka prefectural police said.

The man was identified as Yoshihisa Matsuo, 56, head of the major regional crime syndicate Dojinkai. The police are searching for two men who witnesses said fled from the scene.

They are also warning of a possible escalation in rivalry between gangster groups in the region.

The police received a call that a man had been shot at around 6:15 p.m., and an ambulance took him to the hospital. Witnesses were quoted as saying they heard three or four gunshots and two men fled the scene in a white car.

Matsuo became chairman of Dojinkai, based in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, in May last year. This appointment prompted some members to leave the syndicate to form a new group, and the two have subsequently been in conflict.

Matsuo is believed to have been shot in the head as he got out of a car, the police said.



Posted: May 23 2006, 12:08 PM
Fukuoka yakuza turf war erupts


FUKUOKA (Kyodo) Explosions and gunshots were heard Sunday night in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, involving the Dojin-kai underworld syndicate.

Police said Monday they suspect internal strife.

Nobody was reported wounded, according to police.

They said the ruckus, apparently over leadership, took place at the Dojin-kai headquarters and four of its offices.

Police collected dozens of spent cartridges at the headquarters apparently from a submachinegun and said they believe explosives were used at three of the four offices and a gun at the remaining office.

They received calls from people who heard the mayhem at about 11 p.m. Sunday.

The five sites all have close links to a new crime boss who succeeded Seijiro Matsuo, who retired in early May.

The Dojin-kai's major umbrella group, the Murakami-ikka, opposes the new leader and has announced it will sever all ties. It has been making overtures to the Kobe-based Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest underworld syndicate, according to police.

The Dojin-kai has about 570 members and associates, of whom about 200 are Murakami-ikka members based in Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, police said.