Japanese Yakuza crime boss delivers chilling threat to judge after being sentenced to death

26 August 2021, 07:39

A Yakuza crime boss made a chilling threat to a judge after being sentenced to death in Japan.

Crime boss Satoru Nomura, 74, told the judge "you will regret this for the rest of your life" following his sentencing, which was believed to be the first ever death sentence for a senior figure in the Japanese mafia.

Police are now protecting the judge, jury and some other public officials.

The court in Fukuoka had found that Nomura ordered four attacks, one of which ended in death.

Judge Ben Adachi had described his actions as "extremely vicious" during the sentencing.

"The criminal acts of attacking and killing civilians for the acquisition of interests is extremely vicious," he added.

The assaults, which took place between 1998 and 2014, included the shooting of a former head of a fishing cooperative as well as a family member of the murder victim, a nurse who had treated Nomura, and a police officer being shot or stabbed, the Japan Times said.

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However, Nomura - who is the head of the Kudo-kai syndicate in the south-west of Japan - denied any involvement and plans to appeal.

The mafia boss' second in command, Fumio Tanoue, 65, was also sentenced to life and a fine of ¥20 million, it was also reported.

As there was no direct evidence linked to either of them, the main focus of the trial was on whether they would be recognised as having conspired with underlings who conducted the crimes.

In 2012, Kudo-kai was designated as a particularly dangerous crime syndicate following multiple attacks on civilians and companies.

Membership to Yakuza groups is not illegal in Japan, meaning bosses are not fugitives of the law.