Japan yakuza gang boss found bludgeoned to death | CNN

Japanese gang boss found beaten to death

By Tiffany Ap and Yoko Wakatsuki, CNN
2 minute read
Updated 8:36 AM EST, Tue November 17, 2015
Kenichi Shinoda (center), head of Japan's largest organized crime syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi, after his release from prison in 2011.
Kenichi Shinoda (center), head of Japan's largest organized crime syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi, after his release from prison in 2011.
JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images
Police officers raid the headquarters of the Yamaguchi-gumi's splinter group, the Yamaken-gumi, on September 9, 2015 in Kobe, Japan.
Police officers raid the headquarters of the Yamaguchi-gumi's splinter group, the Yamaken-gumi, on September 9, 2015 in Kobe, Japan.
JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images
A retired yakuza boss, who does not wish to be identified, is pictured at his residence in Tokyo in 2009. His tattoo on his back features a carp swimming upstream against a waterfall.
A retired yakuza boss, who does not wish to be identified, is pictured at his residence in Tokyo in 2009. His tattoo on his back features a carp swimming upstream against a waterfall.
Frank Zeller/AFP/Getty Images
A 53-year-old former yakuza member shows off his silicone finger during a visit to prosthetics specialist Shintaro Hayashi's office in Tokyo. There are two situations in which a gang member chops off a digit, usually a pinkie: When he does it in lieu of paying his debts or to atone for a mistake that could cost his membership or his life, it's called a "dead finger." If he sacrifices a finger for a subordinate or friend, that's a "living finger."
A 53-year-old former yakuza member shows off his silicone finger during a visit to prosthetics specialist Shintaro Hayashi's office in Tokyo. There are two situations in which a gang member chops off a digit, usually a pinkie: When he does it in lieu of paying his debts or to atone for a mistake that could cost his membership or his life, it's called a "dead finger." If he sacrifices a finger for a subordinate or friend, that's a "living finger."
TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images
Relatives carry the body of Iccho Ito, the mayor of Nagasaki who was shot and killed by Yamaguchi-gumi member Tetsuya Shiroo, in April 18, 2007.
Relatives carry the body of Iccho Ito, the mayor of Nagasaki who was shot and killed by Yamaguchi-gumi member Tetsuya Shiroo, in April 18, 2007.
STR/AFP/Getty Images
The yakuza: Inside Japan's murky criminal underworld

Story highlights

Tatsuyuki Hishida was found tied up and bleeding, police say; autopsy shows he was beaten to death

Police say he was a boss in Japan's largest crime syndicate, which recently split into two factions

CNN  — 

A man described by police as a boss in Japan’s organized crime network, the yakuza, was found dead on Sunday night, bleeding from the head after being bludgeoned multiple times, a police official told CNN.

Tatsuyuki Hishida was found bleeding from the head with multiple injuries, said police officer Yoshihiro Nakamura of the Mie Prefectural Police Organized Crime Division. He said Hishida’s hands and feet were bound by plastic cable ties.

Hishida’s wife and staff found him at the entrance area of his second home in Yokkaichi city of Mie prefecture in western Japan, according to his wife.

An autopsy showed Hishida died of traumatic shock from numerous blows all over his body, Nakamura said. An investigation into the slaying is underway.

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Courtesy Jono Rotman
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Police say Hishida was the head of one member group in Japan’s largest crime syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi.

In August, the Yamaguchi-gumi splintered into two main factions, stoking concerns that the split could spark a gang war involving all 21 designated crime groups in the country.

Nakamura said police have been on high alert for potential violence since the rupture.

The last split in the Yamaguchi-gumi occurred in 1984 and resulted in several years of violent warfare marked with assassinations, shootings and attempted bombings that terrified the Japanese public.

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Tiffany Ap wrote from Hong Kong and Yoko Wakatsuki reported from Tokyo.