Arms haul stokes fears of yakuza turf wars

The seizure of automatic weapons, a grenade launcher and 6kg of industrial explosives in Yokohama in the past two weeks may have headed off a turf war between two of the largest underworld groups, according to police.

The 28 weapons, including an AK-47 assault rifle, an M-16 rifle and American and Russian pistols, were discovered in properties belonging to the Inagawa-kai syndicate, said Toshi Tanaka, deputy director of the National Police Agency's Drug and Firearms Control Division.

'We are working with the Organised Crime Division and there are concerns of violence between the Inagawa-kai and the Yamaguchi-gumi gang,' she said.

'The Yamaguchi-gumi named a new boss last year and we are beginning to see it come into Yokohama and Kanagawa prefectures from it's traditional power base, in Kobe and Osaka,' she said. 'It looks as if the Inagawa-kai has similar fears itself and is making preparations.'

Police believe that the gang smuggled the weapons into Japan through the ports of Yokohama and Hiroshima from Russia and the Philippines, along with a quantity of marijuana. The haul included hand grenades and silencers for submachine guns, while the explosive was identified as TNT.

Four people have been arrested, including Komei Akiyama, a member of an affiliated gang called the Matsuda-gumi. The weapons haul was the largest in three years.