Gun shots at Yamanashi onsen likely linked to yakuza feud

YAMANASHI (TR) – In what Yamanashi Prefectural Police believe is connected to an ongoing fight between organized crime groups in Yamanashi Prefecture, a vehicle registered to gang members was shot at on Tuesday morning in the hot springs area of Fuefuki City, reports TV Asahi (Apr. 30).

At around 10:00 a.m., a male reported hearing discharges from a gun. Officers later discovered multiple bullet holes in the exterior of van carrying members of the Yamanashi Kyoyu-kai organized crime group. The wall of a nearby clothing store and another vehicle were also struck by stray bullets.

No injuries were reported.

Police are attempting to confirm that the incident is connected to a gangland war, which has included a number of shooting incidents and possibly one suicide, between the Yamanashi-ikka, an affiliate gang to the Inagawa-kai and the Yamanashi Kyoyu-kai.

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun (May 1), here have been 19 shooting incidents since last November, when an upper member of the Yamanashi Kyoyu-kai was seriously injured after being shot in the riverbed of the Arakawa River.