NOMURA Satoru
Yakuza boss sentenced to death by Fukuoka court, tells judge 'You'll regret this'
August 25, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
Satoru Nomura, head of the Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture-based Kudo-kai -- the only designated dangerous crime syndicate in Japan -- and second-in-command Fumio Tanoue, who were accused of murder and violation of the anti-organized crime law in four attacks on civilians, were respectively sentenced to death and life imprisonment by the Fukuoka District Court in an Aug. 24 public hearing.
Prosecutors had demanded the death penalty for 74-year-old Nomura and a life sentence and a fine of 20 million yen (roughly $182,000) for Tanoue, 65. It is apparently the first case in which the boss of a designated organized crime syndicate has been handed the death sentence, and may affect future investigations of such crime groups.
After the two were handed their sentences, Nomura said to Presiding Judge Ben Adachi, "I asked you to make a fair decision. I heard you became a judge in Tokyo, huh?" to which Tanoue added, "You're a terrible person, Mr. Adachi." Nomura then said, "You'll regret this for the rest of your life."
Adachi recognized that Nomura was "involved as a mastermind" in all four cases, using the organizational strength and the chain of command at Kudo-kai as well as its second-tier affiliates. The presiding judge pointed out that "there can be no extenuating circumstances for the motives and circumstances of the organization's attack on the regular citizens, who weren't at fault," and concluded, "The criminal responsibility is so serious that the choice of capital punishment is unavoidable."
Adachi also found Tanoue to have been "deeply involved in the decision-making process leading to the crime" along with Nomura, and judged that a "fixed-term sentence is too light."
In all four cases, Kudo-kai members who executed the attacks and others involved had already been convicted, and in the absence of evidence showing that the two defendants directly ordered the attacks, the main focus was on whether collusion between the pair and the group members would be established.
The ruling pointed out that of the four cases, Kudo-kai and Nomura's motives were established in three of them -- the shooting of a former fishermen's union chief and the stabbing of a dentist were due to interests in relation to a port construction, and the stabbing of a nurse was due to Nomura's dissatisfaction with how she handled him, the court ruled.
Though it was ruled that the direct motive of the shooting of a former police inspector "was unknown," the collusion between the two defendants and the group members was recognized based on Kudo-kai's strong organizational structure in which superiors' orders must be followed. The court accordingly judged that all four cases could not have occurred without instructions from and the consent of both defendants.
Meanwhile, the fine of 20 million yen demanded for Tanoue by prosecutors on the grounds that the former police inspector was shot for the purpose of earning a profit, was rejected.
After the closing of the court hearing, Nomura's lawyer criticized the ruling as "ridiculous" in front of the press. Both defendants' lawyers said they plan to appeal. The Fukuoka District Public Prosecutors Office said, "Our argument was generally accepted. We would like to carefully consider the content of the ruling and take appropriate measures with respect to the fine."
Head of Kudo-kai Crime Syndicate Sentenced to Death
Published Tuesday, August 24, 2021
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
工藤会トップ、裁判長に「生涯後悔するぞ」 死刑判決直後
全国で唯一の特定危険指定暴力団「工藤会」（北九州市）が関与したとされる市民襲撃4事件で、殺人や組織犯罪処罰法違反（組織的殺人未遂）などの罪に問われた同会トップで総裁の野村悟被告（74）は24日に福岡地裁で開かれた判決公判で、求刑通り死刑を言い渡された後、足立勉裁判長に向かって「公正な判断をお願いしたんだけどねえ。東京の裁判官になったんだって？」と言い、無期懲役を言い渡されたナンバー2で会長の田上不美夫（たのうえ・ふみお）被告が（65）「ひどいなあんた、足立さん」と続ける場面があった。そして最後に野村被告が「生涯後悔するぞ」と言った。