Yakuza member found not guilty

A senior yakuza member was found not guilty on Friday over a fatal shooting of the president of Gyoza no Ohsho restaurant chain operator in a high-profile case that took nearly a decade for the…

Murder details

The Kyoto District Court found Yukio Tanaka, 59, not guilty of killing Takayuki Ohigashi, the then-72-year-old president of dumpling chain operator Ohsho Food Service, in the early morning of Dec.

Case background

As the murder went unresolved in the following months and years, there was rampant public speculation about the culprit.

Arrest timeline

Nine years after Ohigashi was killed, Tanaka, who had been in prison over a separate case, was arrested in October 2022 in connection with the crime and was on trial for murder and violation of…

Tanaka's defense

Tanaka is a senior member of the Kudokai gangster organization based in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka. The trial began in late 2025, and Tanaka pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Tanaka's statement

I am absolutely not the culprit,” Tanaka said when the trial opened last November. “As a person who aims to follow the code of chivalry, I would be able to accept one or two false…

“I am absolutely not the culprit. As a person who aims to follow the code of chivalry, I would be able to accept one or two false accusations, but I can’t allow myself to be implicated in such a sensational crime.”