Yakuza Member Arrested for Illegally Possessing Knife in Car Trunk in Kitakyushu

On June 16, police in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, arrested a 59-year-old man identified as a member of the designated dangerous gang Kudou-kai for violating Japan's firearms and swords control law. Officers conducting a patrol in the Kita-ku district stopped the suspect's light vehicle after noticing suspicious behavior when the driver saw the police car. Upon inspection of the vehicle's trunk, police discovered a knife with a blade approximately 16 centimeters long wrapped in newspaper.

The suspect, identified as Mori Akira, a self-described Kudou-kai affiliated executive residing in Kita-ku, was arrested on the spot. During questioning, Mori claimed he had used the knife to cut watermelon at an acquaintance's house two days prior and had simply forgotten to remove it from the vehicle afterward. He stated that he had purchased a watermelon and brought it to a friend's residence, taking the knife with him for that purpose, but neglected to remove it from the car after using it.

The arrest occurred around 3:50 p.m. on June 16 in the Ota-cho area of Kita-ku. The knife was the only weapon found during the search. Japan's firearms and swords control law prohibits carrying such weapons without legitimate justification, and police investigations into the circumstances of the incident continue.