Susumu Ishii

Susumu Ishii was the second kaicho (godfather) of the Inagawa-kai yakuza gang in Japan. He was also fifth socho of the Yokosuka-ikka.

Ishii was born in Yokosuka in 1924. As a child, he moved with his family to Kamakura where they ran a small noodle shop. In World War II, he was assigned to a kaiten unit of the Japanese Navy but was not given the chance to take part in a suicide attack. After the war, he became a yakuza and joined the Inagawa-kai in 1958. He rose to the number two position in that gang, but was imprisoned for a gambling scam from 1978 to 1984. After serving his time in prison Ishii spoke to the media, saying; "We cannot succeed in the yakuza world unless we are active and aggressive until our early forties. After that, we have to adapt our lives to ordinary society. We cannot always be so forceful."

The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper stated, "Almost every money transaction was related to Susumu Ishii in the 80s and 90s." Ishii's money went overseas as well. He invested in hotels in Monaco, Hong Kong and America. In total he invested 700 million dollars around the world. Throughout various investments he was able to have successful international relations and grow his money.

Ishii was known as the "World's Richest Gangster" or "The Gangster With the Golden Touch". Ishii also received credit and loans totaling to $2.5 billion from Sagawa Kyubin. The president of Nikko Securities and the chairman and president of Nomura resigned when their links to Ishii became public.

Later life But as the Japanese economic bubble burst, Ishii was no longer "the world's richest gangster". His assets and his health declined rapidly, and in September 1990 he retired as kumicho. He was replaced by Yuko Inagawa, son of the gang's original founder Kakuji Inagawa.

Ishii died on September 3, 1991, at Keio University Hospital at age 67. Over 6,000 people attended his funeral at the Ikegami Honmon-ji temple in Ōta, Tokyo.