Tadamasa Goto
Encyclopedia
is a retired yakuza
. He was the founding head of the Goto-gumi
, a Fujinomiya
-based affiliate of Japan
's largest known yakuza syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi
.
Goto, who has been convicted nine times at least, was a prominent yakuza, who had even been dubbed the "John Gotti
of Japan", and at one point he was also the largest shareholder in Japan Airlines
.
He had been barred from entering the United States
until 2001 when he got a special visa deal from the FBI.
affiliate based in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka
. After leaving the Inagawa, he joined the Tenshin-kai, a Kobe
-based tertiary affiliate of the Yamaguchi-gumi
, forming a branch of the Tenshin-kai in Fujinomiya. Goto was rapidly promoted, and in 1969 he formed his own clan, the Goto-gumi
, in Fujinomiya as a secondary affiliate of the Yamaguchi-gumi. He entered the Kobe headquarters of the Yamaguchi-gumi in its 4th era (1984–1985), and had been in the headquarters until 2008 when he was expelled.
. Goto got his new liver, from a queue-jumping transplant, in the year when 186 people in the Los Angeles region died waiting for a liver. Although the FBI would want some crucial information about the Yamaguchi-gumi's activities in the United States, Goto only provided little useful information, however it included a clue about some activities of Susumu Kajiyama
the "Emperor of Loan Sharks". Jake Adelstein
, the journalist who uncovered the transplant story, received death threats. When he was investigating the scandal for the Yomiuri
newspaper, he had a formal meeting with mobsters associated with Goto, where he was told, "erase the story or be erased, your family too".
of the Kodo-kai
. His expulsion from the Yamaguchi-gumi was officially confirmed by the headquarters on October 14, 2008. After retirement, he became a Buddhist priest. In an article on The Daily Beast
, journalist Jake Adelstein
wrote that Goto has reemerged as the head of a new gang, Kyushu Seido-kai
.
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...
. He was the founding head of the Goto-gumi
Goto-gumi
The was a Japanese yakuza organization founded by Tadamasa Goto. The gang was originally formed in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, but moved its activities east in 1991 when it merged with a gang in Hachiōji, Tokyo...
, a Fujinomiya
Fujinomiya, Shizuoka
is a city located in central Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 122,464 and the density of 389 persons per km². The total area was 314.81 km².-Geography:...
-based affiliate of 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...
's largest known yakuza syndicate, 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....
.
Goto, who has been convicted nine times at least, was a prominent yakuza, who had even been dubbed the "John Gotti
John Gotti
John Joseph Gotti, Jr was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gotti grew up in poverty. He and his brothers turned to a life of crime at an early age...
of Japan", and at one point he was also the largest shareholder in Japan Airlines
Japan Airlines
is an airline headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. It is the flag carrier of Japan and its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Tokyo International Airport , as well as Nagoya's Chūbu Centrair International Airport and Osaka's Kansai International Airport...
.
He had been barred from entering the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
until 2001 when he got a special visa deal from the FBI.
Career overview
His career as a yakuza officially began in 1963 when he joined an InagawaInagawa-kai
The is the third largest of Japan's yakuza groups, with approximately 15,000 members. It is based in the Kanto region, and was one of the first yakuza organizations to begin operating overseas.-History:...
affiliate based in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka
Fujinomiya, Shizuoka
is a city located in central Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 122,464 and the density of 389 persons per km². The total area was 314.81 km².-Geography:...
. After leaving the Inagawa, he joined the Tenshin-kai, a Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
-based tertiary affiliate of 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....
, forming a branch of the Tenshin-kai in Fujinomiya. Goto was rapidly promoted, and in 1969 he formed his own clan, the Goto-gumi
Goto-gumi
The was a Japanese yakuza organization founded by Tadamasa Goto. The gang was originally formed in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, but moved its activities east in 1991 when it merged with a gang in Hachiōji, Tokyo...
, in Fujinomiya as a secondary affiliate of the Yamaguchi-gumi. He entered the Kobe headquarters of the Yamaguchi-gumi in its 4th era (1984–1985), and had been in the headquarters until 2008 when he was expelled.
FBI scandal
In 2001, after dealing with the FBI, he entered the United States to receive a liver transplant, and gave a $100,000 donation to the UCLA Medical Center in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Goto got his new liver, from a queue-jumping transplant, in the year when 186 people in the Los Angeles region died waiting for a liver. Although the FBI would want some crucial information about the Yamaguchi-gumi's activities in the United States, Goto only provided little useful information, however it included a clue about some activities of Susumu Kajiyama
Susumu Kajiyama
is a retired yakuza best known for his arrest in 2003, who was dubbed the "loan shark king". He has been introduced as a senior member of the Shizuoka-based Goryo-kai, a secondary organization of Japan's largest yakuza syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi, although he was technically not a member of the...
the "Emperor of Loan Sharks". Jake Adelstein
Jake Adelstein
Joshua "Jake" Adelstein is an American journalist and writer who has spent much of his career in Japan covering vice and organised crime. For 12 years, Adelstein was a crime reporter for the Yomiuri Shinbun and was the first American to work for a Japanese newspaper as a Japanese language reporter...
, the journalist who uncovered the transplant story, received death threats. When he was investigating the scandal for the Yomiuri
Yomiuri Shimbun
The is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five national newspapers in Japan; the other four are the Asahi Shimbun, the Mainichi Shimbun, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, and the Sankei Shimbun...
newspaper, he had a formal meeting with mobsters associated with Goto, where he was told, "erase the story or be erased, your family too".
Retirement
Goto began disappearing from the yakuza scene in 2008 after allegedly being forced into retirement by the Kobe headquarters' ruling faction led by Kiyoshi TakayamaKiyoshi Takayama
is a yakuza, the founding head of the Nagoya-based Takayama-gumi, the president of the 2nd Kodo-kai, and the number-two boss of the 6th Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest known yakuza syndicate in Japan....
of the Kodo-kai
Kodo-kai
The Kodo-kai is a yakuza criminal organization based in Nagoya, Japan. It is a secondary organization of the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest known yakuza syndicate in Japan...
. His expulsion from the Yamaguchi-gumi was officially confirmed by the headquarters on October 14, 2008. After retirement, he became a Buddhist priest. In an article on The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast is an American news reporting and opinion website founded and published by Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker as well as the short-lived Talk Magazine. The Daily Beast was launched on October 6, 2008, and is owned by IAC...
, journalist Jake Adelstein
Jake Adelstein
Joshua "Jake" Adelstein is an American journalist and writer who has spent much of his career in Japan covering vice and organised crime. For 12 years, Adelstein was a crime reporter for the Yomiuri Shinbun and was the first American to work for a Japanese newspaper as a Japanese language reporter...
wrote that Goto has reemerged as the head of a new gang, Kyushu Seido-kai
Kyushu Seido-kai
The is a yakuza organization based in Fukuoka Prefecture on the Kyushu island of Japan, with an estimated 380 active members. Headquartered in the southern Fukuoka region of Omuta, the Kyushu Seido-kai maintains its offices in five other prefectures including Tokyo....
.
Further reading
- "This Mob Is Big in Japan" by Jake AdelsteinJake AdelsteinJoshua "Jake" Adelstein is an American journalist and writer who has spent much of his career in Japan covering vice and organised crime. For 12 years, Adelstein was a crime reporter for the Yomiuri Shinbun and was the first American to work for a Japanese newspaper as a Japanese language reporter...
, May 11, 2008, The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...