Capital punishment - Japan's yakuza vie for control of Tokyo

Although Japan's economy may now be exiting recession, the country's criminal groups are continuing to suffer from the impact of falling criminal revenues, leading them to come into competition. Gang-related violence is rising in Japan, with two of the country's long-established criminal yakuza groups coming into territorial conflict. In March 2008 Hioshige Suzuki, a gang member affiliated to the Yamiguchi-gumi group, was stabbed to death in Yashio city, near Tokyo. The following day, Atsushu Suzuki, affiliated to the Sumiyoshi-kai group, was shot dead in nearby Fujimino city, as part of what police suspect to have been a clash between the two powerful groups.

The Sumiyoshi-kai, traditionally based in and around Tokyo, is under pressure owing to a number of different factors. The country's economic downturn is squeezing the Sumiyoshi-kai's sources of revenue, such as the real estate sector or financial services. In addition, the group is still recovering from the imposition of counter-criminal legislation in 1992, which for the first time defined the yakuza in law and made it easier for the authorities to crack down on their criminal activities.