Crime Hikers find large yakuza arms stash in Kyushu

In Kita-Kyushu's Kokura-Minami Ward, local police made a significant discovery: a cache of weapons hidden in tall grass along a riverbank, which they believe were part of a yakuza arsenal. The investigation began when a couple in their 70s reported finding a box containing handguns during their stroll around 16:00 on 30 May in the Osayuki-Higashi district. Upon arriving at the scene, police discovered a plastic box measuring 33 centimetres by 37 cm by 42 cm containing several handguns and grenades. Subsequent searches revealed another container with additional handguns, grenades, and even rocket launchers. The area was covered in tall grass with waist-high barbed wire set into the ground. Authorities suspect that a yakuza gang may have stashed their weapons there. Fukuoka prefectural police will now investigate whether any of these weapons were used.

In June 2012, prefectural police came across a Russian-made anti-tank rocket launcher and five handguns in a warehouse located in a residential district of Kita-Kyushu. The city has long had to overcome an image of being a violent and dangerous locale because it was the head base of the Kudo-kai yakuza syndicate, once considered the most violent in Japan.

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Handguns (not to mention rocket launchers) are extremely rare in private hands. The more surprising was a robbery case last Wednesday in Kawaguchi, Saitama, in which a taxi driver was shot by 68-year-old Segawa Yoshiichi. Most handguns are smuggled in from Russia.

Yoshiichi Segawa, 68, who was spotted at JR Omiya Station in the adjacent city of Saitama before being apprehended, has admitted to police that he "fired a pistol" and disposed of it. However, he denies having any intention of robbing the 72-year-old taxi driver, who was shot in the abdomen. According to the police, Segawa is suspected of demanding money from the taxi driver at the end of his trip and firing the gun at around 11:40 p.m. on Wednesday in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture. The police had been searching for Segawa, who lives close to where the shooting took place and emerged as a suspect following analysis of the taxi's onboard recorder.

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