A yakuza boss of Japan’s largest gang syndicate was found dead on Sunday night, bleeding from the head after being bludgeoned multiple times, Japanese media reported.
Tatsuyuki Hishida, the chairman of Aioh Kai, a member group of the Yamaguchi-gumi, was found with his hands and feet bound by plastic cable ties, Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun reported Monday.
His wife and staff found him at the entrance area of his second home in Yokkaichi city of Mie prefecture, west Japan, according to his wife.
Police have not confirmed those details, Mainichi said, but are investigating the case as a murder.
In August, the Yamaguchi-gumi syndicate splintered into two main factions, stoking concerns that it could potentially create a gang war involving all 21 designated crime groups in the country.
The last split in the Yamaguchi-gumi occurred in 1984 and resulted in several years of violent warfare marked with assassinations, shootings and attempted bombings that terrified the Japanese public.