Yoshinori Watanabe

was a yakuza, the fifth kumicho (chairman or Godfather) of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza organization. He became kumicho in 1989. He was known for a more low-key approach than his predecessors, partly due to an anti-gang law passed in 1992. He retired in 2005. In 1960, the Yamaguchi Gumi was involved in a deadly gang war in which Yoshinori Watanabe proved himself to be violent but effective mediator in resolving disputes. At the time of his succession, which happened after a four-year gang war between the Yamaguchi-gumi and the Ichiwa-kai, Watanabe was the fifth head of the Yamaguchi-gumi.

During the first few years of being the 5th Generation Kumicho (Don, Chairman, or Godfather), Yoshinori Watanabe made very few changes to the Yamaguchi Gumi Yakuza organization. In the early 1990s, Yoshinori Watanabe started to make some radical changes in the Yamaguchi Gumi Yakuza organization. and under Watanabe's order the Yamaguchi-gumi claimed to have given away 1 billion yen of goods and 20,000 free lunches to survivors, although there were accusations that the motives were not wholly altruistic. In November 2003, the Osaka High Court ordered that Watanabe and three others pay 80 million yen in damages for the killing of an off-duty policeman in 1995 by a Yamaguchi-gumi affiliate, and his appeal to the Supreme Court failed a year later. The rulings were historic in that they set a precedent in recognizing that a crime boss, though not directly involved in the criminal act, is responsible for the act if his subordinates are found guilty of that crime. Masahisa Takenaka's succession led to a violent division in the Yamaguchi Gumi and a violent gang war. Four weeks later, two Ichiwa-kai gangsters were killed at a bicycle track. The war between Yamaguchi Gumi and the splinter group killed more than 30 gang members and a few bystanders. Yoshinori Watanabe's huge ceremony to commemorate accession was held at a local shrine and infused traditional and feudal aspects of the yakuza society. All the leadership of the Yamaguchi Gumi wore traditional Japanese clothing and carried fans. During the ceremony, Yochinori Watanabe and Kazuo Nakanishi, the then-acting boss of Yamaguchi and Watanabe's main rival, formally exchanged cups.

Great Hanshin Earthquake On January 17, 1995 a powerful earthquake struck Japan. Yoshinori Watanabe's house and headquarters, the Castle, seemed not to be damaged by the quake, but one of Yoshinori Watanabe's office buildings was destroyed. Yoshinori Watanabe ordered his affiliates to provide food and water to the needy, but it is believed that the yakuza forced businesses to provide them food and water at discounted price or even for free. After the quake, the Yamaguchi Gumi bought a lot of the land in Kobe for very cheap because many of the owners could not afford to pay for the reconstruction. The reconstruction of Kobe cost more than 120 billion dollars. Yamaguchi Gumi was active in the construction industry of Kobe before the earthquake. It is believed that the Yoshinori Watanabe was the largest beneficiary of the earthquake because of his organization's extensive links in the Kobe construction industry. Because of the nature of the business, it is very difficult to prosecute someone for illegal practices in the construction industry.

Personal life He was born in Tochigi Prefecture in 1941, and had five siblings. He moved to Tokyo after graduating from high school. While in Tokyo, Watanabe Yoshinori made noodles. After two years of making noodles, he moved to Kobe, where he joined the Yamaken Gumi, one of many gangs that are part of the Yamaguchi Gumi Yakuza. He was very private as kumicho, giving no media interviews. His interests were golf, weight-lifting, jogging, and Chinese history.