The Kodo-kai ( ''Kōdō-kai'', ''Koh-doh-kai'') is a

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...

criminal organization In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

based in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, Japan. It is a secondary organization of the Sixth

Yamaguchi-gumi is Japan's largest ''yakuza'' organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for longshoreman, dockworkers in Kobe before World War II. It is one of the largest organized cr ...

, the largest known yakuza syndicate in Japan. With an estimated membership of 4,000,"Yakuza chief arrested in Japan"
November 18, 2010, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' it is the second-largest Yamaguchi affiliate after the Yamaken-gumi, and operates in at least 18

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

. The Kodo-kai is under close surveillance by the

National Police Agency National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Canada: Royal Canadian Mounted Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: National Revolut ...

, as the NPA considers the organization to not be a traditional yakuza organization, but to be more like a

mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

-type organization or

terrorist organization Several national governments and two international organizations have created lists of organizations that they designate as terrorist. The following list of designated terrorist groups lists groups designated as terrorist by current and former ...

."The "Top Operations" for destroying the Yamaguchi-gumi Kodo-kai, arresting from the kumicho to the number 3"
, December 17, 2010, ''Weekly Friday'' The Kodo-kai is notorious for its defiant attitude toward the official, and has dispensed with the yakuza's traditional policy of co-operating with the police. The Kodo-kai has been one of the wealthiest clans in the Yamaguchi-gumi, with an immense working capital estimated at around $5 billion.

History

The Kodo-kai was founded in 1984 by Shinobu Tsukasa"2010 Police White Paper Chapter 2 : Furtherance of Organized Crime Countermeasures, Columun 1 : Kodo-kai Countermeasures"
2010, ''

'' with 24 other members including Kiyoshi Takayama. At this time, Tsukasa became a formal member of the Fourth Yamaguchi-gumi. When the Fifth Yamaguchi-gumi started in May 1989, Tsukasa assumed the position of ''wakagashira-hosa'' (one of the third-ranking bosses). Nagoya Station at Night 3280199097

Kiyoshi Takayama was promoted to the number-two boss (''wakagashira'') in 1989, and to the 2nd president (''kaicho'') in March 2005. The Kodo-kai expanded under Takayama's administration, and by late 2009 its total membership reached 4,000. Takayama became a formal member of the Fifth Yamaguchi-gumi in April, 2005, and assumed the position of ''wakagashira-hosa'' in June, 2005. And when Tsukasa became the ''kumicho'' (Godfather) of the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi in July 2005, his Kodo-kai partner Takayama was given the position of the ''wakagashira'' (number-two boss) on August 8.

Era

1st (1984–2005)

Shinobu Tsukasa, also one of the third-ranking bosses (''wakagashira-hosa'') of the Fifth Yamaguchi-gumi and the founding head of the Tsukasa-kogyo. He would later become the head of the Hirota-gumi and the supreme boss of the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi.

2nd (2005–)

Kiyoshi Takayama who is the number-two boss (''wakagashira'') of the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi and the founding head of the Takayama-gumi, and former chief director (''rijicho'') of the Ryoshin-kai.

Activities

Described as a "financial mafia" by a former officer of the Aichi Prefectural Police Department, the Kodo-kai's activities include

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

investment banking Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service for institutional investors, corporations, governments, and similar clients. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by und ...

for the criminal underworld. The Kodo-kai is allegedly also very active and powerful in traditional "yakuza-friendly" businesses, such as the

real estate business Real estate business is the profession of buying, leasing, managing, or selling real estate (commercial, industrial, residential, or mixed-use development, mixed-use premises)."Real estate": Oxford English Dictionary online: Retrieved September 18 ...

, securities business and

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

."Police's 'Yamaguchi-gumi Cleanup Operation' behind the O-zumo's 'Baseball Gambling'"
July 1, 2010, '' Gendai Business'' A senior member of another Yamaguchi-affiliate has revealed that the Kodo-kai manages a private intelligence organization which specializes in

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

including police-targeted intelligence. According to Japanese media sources, the organization is among the most profitable of all the yakuza factions in Japan. Kodo-kai reportedly raked in an immense amount of money by being the sole supplier of rock, sand, and gravel for the Chūbu Centrair International Airport construction project. The organization continues to earn large revenue by controlling the stevedoring and warehousing companies at the

Port of Nagoya The , located in Ise Bay, is the largest and busiest trading port in Japan, accounting for about 10% of the total trade value of Japan. Notably, this port is the largest exporter of cars in Japan and where the Toyota Motor Corporation exports most ...

, and having a monopoly on sex-oriented establishments in the Nagoya area.

Affiliates

The Kodo-kai's known branch organizations have included : *Seibu Rengo, based in

Hakata, Fukuoka is a wards of Japan, ward of the city of Fukuoka in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Many of Fukuoka Prefecture and Fukuoka City's principal government, commercial, retail and entertainment establishments are located in the district. Hakata-ku is als ...

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

. *Komatsu-gumi, based in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. Launched around 1987, Komatsu-gumi have its offices in several districts in Tokyo, including

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, Toy, toys, arcade cabinets, and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, Vending machine, vending machines, and Juk ...

and Minato. *Koike-gumi, based in Chiba. *Fukushima Rengo, based in

Sapporo, Hokkaido is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

. *Jido-kai, based in

Nagano, Nagano is the capital and largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagano Prefecture, located in the Nagano Basin (Zenkoji Daira) in the central Chūbu region of Japan. Nagano is categorized as a Core cities of Japan, core city of Japan. Nagano City is the hig ...

, the largest Kodo affiliate in

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

. *Omi-ikka, based in Otsu, Shiga. The Omi-ikka was founded in 2003 by the eldest son of Tokutaro Takayama, the fourth president of the

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

-based Aizukotetsu-kai."The background of the arrest of the wakagashira Kiyoshi Takayama, is a fierce conflict for the 'Kyoto concession'!"
November 25, 2010, '' Gendai Business'' among others.

References

{{reflist Organizations established in 1984 1984 establishments in Japan Yakuza groups Yamaguchi-gumi