Yoshio Kodama
Encyclopedia
was a prominent figure in the rise of organized crime in Japan
. The most famous 'kuromaku', or behind-the-scenes power broker, of the 20th century, he was active in Japan's political arena and criminal underworld from the 1950s to the early 1970s.
Born in Nihonmatsu, Japan, Kodama lived with relatives in Japanese-occupied Korea
early in his life, and during that time formed an ultranationalist
group with the intent to assassinate various Japan
ese politician
s. He was caught and served a prison term of three and a half years.
After his release, the Japanese government contracted Kodama to help move supplies for the Japanese war effort out of continent
al Asia
and into Japan. He accomplished this through a network of allies he made during his time working in Korea as a youth. Kodama became involved in the drug trade
at this time, moving opiate
s to Japan along with the supplies he was paid by the government to smuggle. He formed a vast network of allies and gained a fortunemore than $175 million dollars U.S.
, making him one of the richest men in Asiaduring this time.
At the end of World War II
, Kodama was arrested by the United States
as a Class A war criminal
. He was held in Sugamo Prison
with Ryoichi Sasakawa
, where the two formed a long friendship. While locked up, he wrote his Sugamo Diary (a chronicle of his experience in prison) and I Was Defeated (an autobiographical work).
The U.S.
intelligence community later secured his release in exchange for his aid in fighting Communism
in Asia. Kodama, being a right-wing ultranationalist, eagerly obliged, using his fortune and network of contacts to quell labor disputes, root out Communist sympathizers, and otherwise fight the socialist presence in Japan. In 1949, the CIA
paid him to smuggle a shipment of tungsten
out of China. The shipment never arrived but Kodama kept his money.
Kodama used his power in the yakuza
to suppress anything he deemed the least bit Communist or anti-nationalist. In 1947 he ordered the Meiraki-gumi, an affiliated gang, to break up a labour movement at the Hokutan coal mine. He also offered his support to the anti-communist right-wing Liberal Democratic Party
.
During this period, Kodama used his underworld connections to help unite the various gangs, which had greatly proliferated in the years immediately following World War II. The short-lived Kanto-kai
was the most prominent example of these efforts. He also brokered a truce between the Yamaguchi-gumi
and the Tosei-kai
, headed by his colleague Hisayuki Machii
.
Kodama was also involved in a number of scandals in the post-war era, many of which involved United States businesses and the CIA. Most notable of these was the Lockheed L-1011 sales scandal
in the 1970s, which effectively marked the end of his career. After the Lockheed scandal, disillusioned ultranationalist roman porno film actor Mitsuyasu Maeno
attempted to assassinate Kodama by flying a plane into his Tokyo house, kamikaze
-style. The attempt failed.
Kodama died in his sleep of a stroke on January 17, 1984.
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 most famous 'kuromaku', or behind-the-scenes power broker, of the 20th century, he was active in Japan's political arena and criminal underworld from the 1950s to the early 1970s.
Born in Nihonmatsu, Japan, Kodama lived with relatives in Japanese-occupied Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
early in his life, and during that time formed an ultranationalist
Japanese nationalism
encompasses a broad range of ideas and sentiments harbored by the Japanese people over the last two centuries regarding their native country, its cultural nature, political form and historical destiny...
group with the intent to assassinate various 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...
ese politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
s. He was caught and served a prison term of three and a half years.
After his release, the Japanese government contracted Kodama to help move supplies for the Japanese war effort out of continent
Continent
A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...
al Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and into Japan. He accomplished this through a network of allies he made during his time working in Korea as a youth. Kodama became involved in the drug trade
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
at this time, moving opiate
Opiate
In medicine, the term opiate describes any of the narcotic opioid alkaloids found as natural products in the opium poppy plant.-Overview:Opiates are so named because they are constituents or derivatives of constituents found in opium, which is processed from the latex sap of the opium poppy,...
s to Japan along with the supplies he was paid by the government to smuggle. He formed a vast network of allies and gained a fortunemore than $175 million dollars U.S.
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
, making him one of the richest men in Asiaduring this time.
At the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Kodama was arrested by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as a Class A war criminal
Japanese war crimes
Japanese war crimes occurred during the period of Japanese imperialism, primarily during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. Some of the incidents have also been described as an Asian Holocaust and Japanese war atrocities...
. He was held in Sugamo Prison
Sugamo Prison
Sugamo Prison was located in the district of Ikebukuro, which is now part of the Toshima ward of Tokyo, Japan-History:...
with Ryoichi Sasakawa
Ryoichi Sasakawa
was a Japanese businessman, politician and philanthropist born in Minoh, Osaka. He was accused but acquitted of being a Class A war criminal after World War II, was a self-proclaimed fascist, kuromaku , and the founder of The Nippon Foundation...
, where the two formed a long friendship. While locked up, he wrote his Sugamo Diary (a chronicle of his experience in prison) and I Was Defeated (an autobiographical work).
The U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
intelligence community later secured his release in exchange for his aid in fighting Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in Asia. Kodama, being a right-wing ultranationalist, eagerly obliged, using his fortune and network of contacts to quell labor disputes, root out Communist sympathizers, and otherwise fight the socialist presence in Japan. In 1949, the CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
paid him to smuggle a shipment of tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...
out of China. The shipment never arrived but Kodama kept his money.
Kodama used his power in the 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...
to suppress anything he deemed the least bit Communist or anti-nationalist. In 1947 he ordered the Meiraki-gumi, an affiliated gang, to break up a labour movement at the Hokutan coal mine. He also offered his support to the anti-communist right-wing Liberal Democratic Party
Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)
The , frequently abbreviated to LDP or , is a centre-right political party in Japan. It is one of the most consistently successful political parties in the democratic world. The LDP ruled almost continuously for nearly 54 years from its founding in 1955 until its defeat in the 2009 election...
.
During this period, Kodama used his underworld connections to help unite the various gangs, which had greatly proliferated in the years immediately following World War II. The short-lived Kanto-kai
Kanto-kai
The was a Japanese underworld organization formed by Yoshio Kodama in 1964, and named for the Kantō region from which it drew most of its membership. Kodama envisioned the Kantō-kai as a secret national police force, with the aim of forwarding the far right-wing views he and other organized...
was the most prominent example of these efforts. He also brokered a truce between the Yamaguchi-gumi
Yamaguchi-gumi
is Japan's largest and most infamous yakuza organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for dockworkers in Kobe pre-WWII....
and the Tosei-kai
Toa Yuai Jigyo Kumiai
The is a yakuza syndicate based in Tokyo with a predominantly Korean Japanese membership. Originally named the , with its historic leader Hisayuki Machii, the Toa-kai was deeply involved in the history of Tokyo's South Korean community and Japan's anti-communist circles in the 20th century...
, headed by his colleague Hisayuki Machii
Hisayuki Machii
, nicknamed the , was the founder of one of Japan's most notorious yakuza gangs, the Tosei-Kai.A Korean, Machii was born Jeong Geon Yeong in 1923 when Korea was under Japanese occupation. After World War II, Machii settled in Tokyo and became involved in postwar Japan's thriving black market...
.
Kodama was also involved in a number of scandals in the post-war era, many of which involved United States businesses and the CIA. Most notable of these was the Lockheed L-1011 sales scandal
Lockheed bribery scandals
The Lockheed bribery scandals encompassed a series of bribes and contributions made by officials of U.S. aerospace company Lockheed from the late 1950s to the 1970s in the process of negotiating the sale of aircraft....
in the 1970s, which effectively marked the end of his career. After the Lockheed scandal, disillusioned ultranationalist roman porno film actor Mitsuyasu Maeno
Mitsuyasu Maeno
was a Japanese actor who appeared in roman porno films. He died in a suicide attack on Yoshio Kodama, a multi-millionaire right-wing leader and leading figure in the Lockheed bribery scandals.-Background:...
attempted to assassinate Kodama by flying a plane into his Tokyo house, kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
-style. The attempt failed.
Kodama died in his sleep of a stroke on January 17, 1984.