Japan | Head of Kudo-kai Crime Syndicate Sentenced to Death

Fukuoka, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)--The head of the Kudo-kai crime syndicate, described by public safety officials as the most violent in Japan, was sentenced to death on Tuesday over four cases of attacks on civilians, including a deadly one.

Fukuoka District Court gave the death penalty to Satoru Nomura, the 74-year-old boss of the gang based in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, as sought by prosecutors.

Fumio Tanoue, 65, a second-ranking member of the gang, was sentenced to an indefinite prison term.

Prosecutors had demanded an indefinite prison term and a fine of 20 million yen.

Presiding Judge Ben Adachi recognized the two men's involvement in all of the four assault cases.

As there was no direct evidence linking Nomura and Tanoue with the four cases, the focus of the trial was on whether they would be recognized as having conspired with underlings who have already been convicted of actually conducting the crimes.

Source: nippon.com, Staff, August 23, 2021

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

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