Goto-gumi

The nihongo|Goto-gumi|後藤組 is a Japanese yakuza gang now active in Tokyo.

The gang was originally formed in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, but moved its activities east in 1991 when it merged with a gang in Hachiōji, Tokyo.

The Goto-gumi, as an affiliate of Japan's largest yakuza organization, the Kobe-based Yamaguchi-gumi, was seen as a vanguard for Yamaguchi expansion into the Kantō region.

The gang achieved notoriety the following year, when five of its members assaulted and seriously injured Japanese filmmaker Juzo Itami. The attack was in retaliation for Itami's negative portrayal of the yakuza in his film "Minbo no Onna".

The current head of the Goto-gumi is Tadamasa Goto, born 1942. In 2001, the FBI's representative in Tokyo arranged for Tadamasa Goto to receive a liver transplant in the United States, in return for information of Yamaguchi-gumi operations in the U.S. This was done without prior consultation of the NPA. The journalist who uncovered the deal received threats by Goto and was given police protection in the US and in Japan. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/09/AR2008050902544.html This Mob Is Big in Japan] , "The Washington Post", 11 May 2008]

References

crime-stub For a detailed analysis of the Goto-gumi by a Japanese government agency see http://web.mac.com/jakeadelstein/iWeb/Site/Goto-gumi.html or www.japansubculture.com