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| Japan godfather released from jail |
| By google.com/hostednews |
| Published: 04/12/2011 |
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TOKYO — The leader of Japan's largest crime syndicate was released from jail Saturday after serving more than five years, local media reported. Kenichi Shinoda, 69, wearing a dark brown leather hat and sunglasses, walked out of Fuchu jail at 5:50 am to a waiting van, TV footage showed. Police are bracing for "aggressive activities" by the Yamaguchi-gumi gang that Shinoda heads, Kyodo News reported. The 35,000-strong gang boasts more than 40 percent of all mob members in Japan, and it is now expected to step up efforts to extend its influence from the west of the country to the Tokyo area. Shinoda began serving a jail term for illegal gun possession in December 2005. Police arrested the Yamaguchi-gumi's second-in-command in November last year as part of a crackdown on underground syndicates. Japan's yakuza groups, unlike the Italian mafia or Chinese triads, are not illegal, and their members, many of whom sport full-body tattoos, operate out of corporate headquarters that are listed in phone books. Read More. |
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