# Yakuza member acquitted in Ohsho president murder case

> Yakuza member Yukio Tanaka acquitted after decade-long hunt for Ohsho president's killer.
- Title: Yakuza member acquitted in Ohsho president murder case
- Summary: Yakuza member Yukio Tanaka acquitted after decade-long hunt for Ohsho president's killer. Yakuza member Yukio Tanaka was found not guilty of fatally shooting…
- Keywords: yukio tanaka, takayuki ohigashi, gyoza no ohsho, ohsho food service, kyoto district court, kudokai, news, politics, world, Yakuza, member, acquitted
- Source: The Japan Times — https://japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/10/16/japan/crime-legal/ohsho-murder-ruling
- Author: Spencer Landers
- Published: 2026-10-16T04:33:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: yukio tanaka, takayuki ohigashi, gyoza no ohsho, ohsho food service, kyoto district court, kudokai, news, politics, world
## 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.
## Key takeaway

Yakuza member Yukio Tanaka was found not guilty of fatally shooting Ohsho Food Service president Takayuki Ohigashi in 2013 after nearly a decade of investigation.