Susumu Ishii

Susumu Ishii (石井進 ''Ishii Susumu''; 1924–1991) a.k.a. 石井隆匡 was the second ''kaicho'' (godfather) of the

Inagawa-kai The is the third largest of Japan's yakuza groups, with approximately 3,100 members. It is based in the Kantō region, and was one of the first yakuza organizations to begin operating overseas. History The Inagawa-kai was founded in Atami, Shiz ...

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 ter ...

gang in Japan. He was also fifth ''socho'' of the Yokosuka-ikka. Ishii was born in

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The ...

in 1924. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he was assigned to a

kaiten were crewed torpedoes and suicide craft, used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in the final stages of World War II. History In recognition of the unfavorable progress of the war, towards the end of 1943 the Japanese high command considered s ...

unit of the

Japanese Navy , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN ...

but was not given the chance to take part in a

suicide attack A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout history ...

. After the war, he became a yakuza and joined the Inagawa-kai in 1958. He rose to the number two position in that gang, but was

imprisoned Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...

for a gambling scam from 1978 to 1984. After serving his time in prison Ishii spoke to the media, saying; "We cannot succeed in the yakuza world unless we are active and aggressive until our early forties. After that, we have to adapt our lives to ordinary society. We cannot always be so forceful." His house remains in Yokosuka city, a three-storey, brick house in French, Greek and Italian styles. Ishii had ownership of a golf club. Iwama Country Club was 36 holes, luxurious golf course. Ishii gathered the wealthiest of Japan and asked them to buy member ship fees that cost over two hundred thousand dollars. The golf course was a big success, bringing millions to Ishii. He was released from prison at the start of Japan's bubble economy. Through various loans, banking deals, and real estate scams, he accumulated assets of over $4 billion which he invested in projects around the world, including in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. In 1989, his group even hired

Prescott Bush Prescott Sheldon Bush (May 15, 1895 – October 8, 1972) was an American banker as a Wall Street executive investment banker, he represented Connecticut in the from 1952 of the Bush family, he was the father of former Vice President and ...

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; p ...

's brother, as an advisor (Bush denies knowing his clients' criminal background). At that time, the yakuza were all about money and violence. If the yakuza had any sort of problems they either paid people off or sorted out their problems with violence. However the way Ishii viewed things was different compared to the typical yakuza. Ishii never favored violence and whenever he came across a problem he would always think and talk his way out of problems. Ishii did not use violence or money to solve any of his problems. Ishii also did not receive money from anyone when others wanted to resolve a problem with him or his clan. Ishii changed the overall image of the Japanese yakuza with his words. The ''

Yomiuri Shimbun The (lit. ''Reading-selling Newspaper'' or ''Selling by Reading Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are ...

'' newspaper stated, "Almost every money transaction was related to Susumu Ishii in the 80s and 90s." Ishii's money went overseas as well. He invested in hotels in Monaco, Hong Kong and America. In total he invested 700 million dollars around the world. Throughout various investments he was able to have successful international relations and grow his money. Ishii was known as the "World's Richest Gangster" or "The Gangster With the Golden Touch". Everything he touched changed into millions of dollars. But as the Japanese economic bubble burst, Ishii was no longer "the world's richest gangster". His assets and his health declined rapidly, and in September 1990 he retired as ''kumicho''. He was replaced by Toi Inagawa, son of the gang's original founder Kakuji Inagawa. Ishii died on September 3, 1991. Over 6,000 people attended his funeral at the Ikegami Honmonji temple in

Ōta, Tokyo is a special ward located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. In English, it is often called Ōta City. , the ward has an estimated population of 716,413, with 379,199 households and a population density of 12,048.65 persons per km2. The total area ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ishii, Susumu 1924 births 1991 deaths Yakuza members People from Yokosuka, Kanagawa Japanese billionaires Imperial Japanese Navy personnel of World War II Kamikaze pilots