‘Conflict’ status lifted for Yamaguchi-gumi as aging yakuza factions face rapid decline

HYOGO (TR) – A prefectural public safety commission on Monday announced that it is set to lift the draconian “designated conflict syndicate” status imposed on Japan’s largest yakuza group, the Yamaguchi-gumi , and its rival splinter factions.

Authorities cited a massive decline in underworld manpower and a prolonged lull in violence, reports Mainichi Broadcasting System (Sep. 8).

The Hyogo Prefectural Public Safety Commission said it will allow the strict designation to expire on Monday for the Yamaguchi-gumi and the Ikeda-gumi. A similar designation applied to the Yamaguchi-gumi and the Kizuna-kai faction will not be renewed after September 20.

Police sources revealed that the decision comes after a noticeable absence of gangland hits. Furthermore, the Yamaguchi-gumi recently submitted a written oath declaring an end to the conflict, and investigators have confirmed through hearings that none of the involved factions intend to reignite a turf war.

Kenichi Shinoda, the chairman of the Yamaguchi-gumi (X)

“Designated conflict”

The underworld conflict erupted 11 years ago in 2015 when the massive Yamaguchi-gumi splintered, spawning the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, which later fractured further into groups like Kizuna-kai and Ikeda-gumi.

Escalating violence, including a string of fatal shootings of gang bosses in 2019, prompted authorities across six prefectures to slap the syndicates with the “designated conflict” label in 2020. The designation was later expanded to include Kizuna-kai and Ikeda-gumi in 2023 after a Yamaguchi-gumi boss, who was running a ramen shop in Kobe, was gunned down by a Kizuna-kai hitman.

The special designation served as a stranglehold on gang operations. Under the law, members were banned from entering their own offices or gathering in groups of five or more in designated warning zones. Violators faced immediate arrest under the Anti-Organized Crime Law, a measure that severely crippled the syndicates’ ability to hold meetings or maintain gang unity.

However, the primary reason for the lifted restrictions is the sheer collapse of yakuza manpower. Experts note that the aging syndicates simply lack the strength to sustain a war.

According to National Police Agency data, the number of gang members nationwide has plummeted by half over the past decade, dropping below 20,000. The Yamaguchi-gumi has shrunk from nearly 6,000 members in 2015 to around 3,100 today. Splinter groups have fared far worse: Kizuna-kai has dwindled from its initial 460 members to a mere 50, while the Ikeda-gumi has been reduced from roughly 80 members to just 30.

Analysts attribute this death spiral to strict Yakuza Exclusion Ordinances enforced nationwide. Underworld figures are now social pariahs, legally barred from opening bank accounts, obtaining credit cards, signing cell phone contracts, or even checking into hotels. Combined with a younger generation unwilling to endure the strict, antiquated yakuza hierarchy, the syndicates have been starved of fresh recruits.

But as the traditional yakuza fade, a new criminal element is stepping into the void.

Police are increasingly struggling with the explosive rise of hangure (quasi-yakuza) and tokuryu syndicates, whose members communicate anonymously via smartphone apps. Tokuryu arrests reached a staggering 12,178 in recent data, highlighting a severe shift in Japan’s criminal landscape.

Unlike heavily monitored yakuza families, these shadowy networks are extremely difficult to track until after a crime is committed. Yet, police warn that the old and new underworlds remain deeply intertwined, with modern fraud rings frequently kicking up illicit profits to traditional yakuza syndicates as tribute or protection money.

Authorities say they will maintain strict surveillance on the yakuza even after the conflict designation is lifted.

Published in Crime , News and Yakuza

The editorial team at The Tokyo Reporter brings the site's readership the latest news from the under side of Japan.

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兵库县（TR）——周一，兵库县公安委员会宣布，将解除对日本最大的黑帮组织山口组及其敌对分裂派系施加的严苛的“指定冲突集团”地位。

据《每日放送》（9月8日）报道，当局指出，黑社会人口大幅减少，暴力事件长期处于平静状态。

兵库县公安委员会表示，将于周一终止对山口组和池田组的严禁组织认定。此前对山口组和羁绊会派系实施的类似认定，将于9月20日后不再续期。

警方消息人士透露，这一决定是在近期黑帮仇杀事件明显减少之后做出的。此外，山口组最近提交了一份书面宣誓书，宣布结束冲突，调查人员也通过听证会证实，涉事各方均无意重燃地盘争夺战。

山口组（X）会长筱田健一

“指定冲突”

这场黑道冲突爆发于 11 年前的 2015 年，当时庞大的山口组分裂，产生了神户山口组，而神户山口组后来又进一步分裂成绊会和池田组等组织。

暴力事件不断升级，包括 2019 年一系列黑帮头目遭枪击身亡的事件，促使六个县的当局在 2020 年将这些犯罪集团贴上了“指定冲突”的标签。2023 年，在一名在神户经营拉面店的山口组头目被一名绊会杀手枪杀后，这一指定范围扩大到包括绊会和池田组。

这项特殊规定对帮派活动起到了致命打击作用。根据该法律，帮派成员被禁止进入自己的办公室，或在指定的警告区域内聚集五人或五人以上。违者将根据《反有组织犯罪法》立即被捕，这项措施严重削弱了犯罪集团举行会议或维持帮派团结的能力。

然而，解除限制的主要原因是黑帮势力的彻底衰落。专家指出，这些老旧的犯罪集团已经没有足够的实力来维持一场战争。

根据日本警察厅的数据，过去十年间，全国黑帮成员人数锐减一半，降至2万人以下。山口组的成员人数从2015年的近6000人锐减至如今的约3100人。分裂出来的黑帮组织情况更为糟糕：羁绊会的成员人数从最初的460人锐减至仅剩50人，池田组的成员人数也从约80人减少到仅剩30人。

分析人士将这种衰落归咎于全国范围内严格执行的黑帮排除条例。黑帮成员如今已成为社会弃儿，被法律禁止开设银行账户、办理信用卡、签订手机合约，甚至入住酒店。再加上年轻一代不愿忍受陈旧的黑帮等级制度，黑帮组织一直缺乏新鲜血液。

但随着传统黑帮的消亡，新的犯罪势力正在填补这一空白。

警方正日益努力应对黑社会组织（准黑帮）和德龙组织的爆炸式增长，这些组织的成员通过智能手机应用程序匿名联络。最新数据显示，德龙组织的逮捕人数高达12178人，凸显了日本犯罪格局的严重转变。

与受到严密监控的黑帮家族不同，这些隐秘的网络在犯罪发生之前极难追踪。然而，警方警告说，新旧黑社会仍然紧密交织在一起，现代诈骗团伙经常将非法所得以贡金或保护费的形式输送给传统的黑帮组织。

当局表示，即使冲突认定解除，他们仍将继续对黑帮进行严格监视。

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