Head of Japan's most powerful crime syndicate freed from prison

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Source: The Guardian

Police in Japan are bracing themselves for the possibility of conflict with the underworld after the head of the country's most powerful crime syndicate was released from prison.

Kenichi Shinoda was freed from the Fuchu prison, near Tokyo, on Saturday after serving a six-year sentence for firearms offences.

Wearing a brown leather fedora and dark sunglasses, the 69-year-old was ushered into a waiting van shortly after dawn and taken to the western port city of Kobe, the headquarters of the Yamaguchi-gumi.

Around 35,000 gangsters – 44% of Japan's total – are members of the Yamaguchi-gumi, which has adopted a more aggressive stance under Shinoda's leadership.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/10/head-japan-crime-syndicate-freed-prison