FUKUOKA – In a high-profile trial, the head of an organized crime syndicate often described as the most violent in Japan was sentenced to death in Fukuoka district court on August 24th.
Satoru Nomura, 74, the leader of the Kita-kai gang in Kita-Kyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, was sentenced to death for his involvement in four violent incidents, one of which killed one individual.
President Judge Ben Adachi also handed down a life sentence to Nomura’s second-in-command, 65-year-old Fumio Tanoue.
The court said in the ruling that Nomura and Tanoue conspired to carry out the four attacks. Nomura gave an order in the murder case, and the other three crimes were carried out under a chain of command structure run by Nomura, the court said.
The Fukuoka District Prosecutor’s Office had requested the death penalty for Nomura and a life sentence for Tanoue, along with a fine of 20 million yen ($ 182,200).
There was no clear direct evidence linking Nomura and Tanoue to the four cases, while those who actually committed the crimes have been convicted.
Both Nomura and Tanoue have denied their involvement and asserted their innocence.
Nomura was dissatisfied with the court ruling and appears to have threatened the presiding judge.
After the court vacated, Nomura told Adachi, “I asked you for a fair trial. But this is not at all fair. You will regret it for the rest of your life. ”
Tanoue also said, “You’re horrible, Mr. Adachi,” when he left the room.
Apparently, it was the first time prosecutors had called for a death sentence for a gang leader recognized by the Wrongful Prevention Act by members of the Organized Crime Groups Act.
The court’s decision to grant the prosecution’s lawsuit is expected to affect future investigations by organized crime groups.
CRIMES DATED OVER 20 YEARS
The first of four assaults occurred in 1998. A 70-year-old former leader of a local fishing cooperative was shot dead on the streets of Kita-Kyushu.
The second occurred in 2012. A former Fukuoka prefecture officer was shot in Kita-Kyushu.
The third occurred in 2013 in Fukuoka, where she was stabbed by a nurse at a medical clinic where Nomura was seeking treatment.
The fourth took place in 2014, in which a male dentist who was a relative of the former leader of the fishing cooperative was stabbed in Kita-Kyushu.
Prosecutors argued that each of the four incidents was a coordinated attack by the Kudo-kai, and both Nomura as Brain and Tanoue as number 2 in the group sanctioned the acts through the chain of command structure of the Kudo-kai. band.
Although the subordinates of the gangs may have been the ones who actually carried out the attacks, as the head of an organization in which the orders of the leader were absolute, Nomura and Tanoue had the utmost responsibility, argued the fiscal.
The two were charged with murder, a coordinated attempted murder and rape.
Prosecutors argued that the first and fourth crimes came from Nomura’s desire to take over the economic interests of a fishing cooperative. But the ex-leader rejected Nomura’s openings.
The shooting and stabbing, produced 16 years apart, were attempts to intimidate family members who controlled economic interests and forced them to submit.
The second attack was an obvious attempt to pressure local law enforcement who had launched a crackdown on the Kudo-kai.
The third assault was triggered by Nomura’s dissatisfaction with the nurse who treated him at a clinic, according to prosecutors.
Those who actually committed the crimes have already been convicted. In all the proceedings, except in the case of the assassination of the former head of fishing cooperative, the courts recognized the existence of a chain system in command led by Nomura and Tanoue.
One of the main points in dispute in the last trial was whether Nomura and Tanoue gave direct orders to commit the violent acts, as there is no solid evidence directly related to the court cases.
Prosecutors argued that Nomura deserved the harshest punishment because none of the victims of the four incidents had connections to rival gangs.
“Ordinary citizens became the target of all incidents, repeatedly posing a direct threat to society,” prosecutors said.
These incidents were “unprecedented in the extremely flagrant nature of crimes committed by organized gangs,” they said.
THE DEBTES PROCLAIMED HIS INNOCENCE
Defense attorneys, on the other hand, denied Nomura’s involvement in the first and fourth incidents, saying he “never had an interest in the cooperative.”
As for the execution of a police officer, the defense argued that it would only pull back to attack law enforcement, as it would cause the police to launch a tougher crackdown on the Kudo-kai.
For the stabbing of a nurse, Nomura’s discomfort with her was only temporary, according to the defense.
Nomura “had no motivation to attack” in all four cases, according to the defense.
The defense also criticized prosecutors and said their “assessment of circumstantial evidence is extremely arbitrary.”
Prosecutors “have not considered other hypotheses because they want to link the force (Nomura and Tanoue) with the incidents” and “are totally focused on their self-reliant speculations,” the defense said.
Nomura in his final statement said, “I am innocent.”
Tanoue said, “I’ve never been involved, not in the slightest.”
Both have maintained their innocence.
LAW APPLICATIONS MOVE AGAINST KUDO-KAI
Fukuoka prefecture police launched a massive operation in September 2014 to destroy the Kudo-kai and made arrests of senior members, including Nomura and Tanoue.
By the end of 2020, there were about 430 members and almost members of the Kudo-kai. At the end of 2008, when the group reached its peak, there were about 1,210 gang members, about three times more than the current members.
The trial against Nomura and Tanoue began in October 2019.
For security reasons, the Fukuoka District Court decided to exclude the trial from a system of lay judges involving ordinary citizens along with professional judges.
As of March this year, a total of 62 hearings had been held and a total of 91 people had testified, including former gang members and police officers.
Kudo-kai is headquartered in Kita-Kyushu, a major port city in the prefecture near its capital, Fukuoka, and a gateway to the Kyushu region, while extending its influence to areas in the around Tokyo with official protection organizations.
Because the group had repeatedly violently attacked citizens, it has been named as a special organization designated for dangerous crimes under the Organized Crime Act. Kudo-kai is the only organization designated as such in Japan.
Investigators enter the home of Satoru Nomura, head of the Kudo-kai organized crime syndicate, and arrest him on suspicion of murder and other crimes in September 2014. (The Asahi Shimbun)