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Top yakuza group shrank 40% after last year’s split: NPA
The Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan’s largest yakuza group, had about 6,000 members at the end of 2015, down 40 percent from a year ago, the National Police Agency said in a report Thursday.
The Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, a new group born from the breakup of the main group last August, had about 2,800 members, making it the third-largest underworld group after the Tokyo-based Sumiyoshi-kai, the report said.
Yamaguchi-gumi, based in Kobe, and Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, based in nearby Awaji, are increasing efforts to weaken each other, a senior NPA official said.
Although the two groups have yet to enter a full-blown war, police are stepping up surveillance in view of the many altercations and incidents involving their members nationwide, the official noted.
The NPA survey also found the new yakuza group claims 22 subgroup leaders, with its influence spreading to 36 of the 47 prefectures.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/02/25/national/crime-legal/top-yakuza-group-shrank-40-last-year-npa/