The is a yakuza

Yakuza

, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...

 organization based in Osaka

Osaka Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshū, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.- History :...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. The Sakaume-gumi is a designated yakuza group with an estimated 110 active members.

The Sakaume-gumi is an old-established, small group that focuses primarily on gambling, and not on other activities like extortion and drugs. Perhaps because of this, it has had relatively good relations with the local police.

When Japan passed new anti-boryokudan laws in 1992, the Sakaume-gumi was one of the few Kansai

Kansai

The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, and Shiga. Depending on who makes the distinction, Fukui, Tokushima and even Tottori Prefecture are also included...

-based groups not to launch legal challenges against the new legislation. At a hearing, the group's representative stated, "If the Sakaume-gumi fulfills conditions for designation (as a boryokudan group), we have no choice but to accept it."

History

The Sakaume-gumi was registered as a designated yakuza group under the Organized Crime Countermeasures Law in May 1993.

Condition

The Sakaume-gumi is one of the two designated yakuza groups based in the Osaka Prefecture

Osaka Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshū, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.- History :...

, along with the Azuma-gumi

Azuma-gumi

The is a yakuza organization based in Osaka, Japan. The Azuma-gumi is a designated yakuza group with an estimated 170 active members.-History:The Azuma-gumi was registered as a designated yakuza group under the Organized Crime Countermeasures Law in August 1993....

, and maintains its headquarters office in Nishinari, Osaka

Nishinari-ku, Osaka

is one of the 24 wards of Osaka, Japan. It contains some shopping and entertainment areas beloved to many Osakans, e.g. Shinsekai and Tamade. It lies directly south of the Namba transport hub and extends further south toward Sumiyoshi Park. It is served by the Nankai Railway lines as well as the...

.

One former member of the Sakaume-gumi has achieved a measure of fame in another field: born-again Christianity. Rev Hiroyuki Suzuki, a tattooed

Irezumi

Irezumi is a Japanese word that refers to the insertion of ink under the skin to leave a permanent, usually decorative mark; a form of tattooing....

, pinky

Yubitsume

is a Japanese ritual to atone for offenses to another, a way to be punished or to show sincere apology to another, by means of amputating portions of one's own little finger...

-missing former Sakaume-gumi gangster, has become Japan's most colourful evangelical

Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...

 Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

preacher.

Presidents

• 1st: Umekichi Tobi
• 2nd: Yukichi Tanaka
• 3rd: Shojiro Matsuyama
• 4th: Yukio Nakano
• 5th (1979–1995): Masao Taniguchi
• 6th (1996–1999): Koji Oyama
• 7th (1999-present): Kozaburo Kanayama