Kudo-kai

The Kudo-kai (工藤會, Kudō-kai) is a yakuza group headquartered in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka on the Kyushu island of Japan, with an estimated 190 active members. The Kudo-kai has been an independent syndicate since its foundation, and has caused numerous conflicts with the Yamaguchi-gumi, for example on eight occasions in 2000 at least one Yamaguchi-affiliate boss has been killed by the Kudo-kai. The Kudo-kai is the largest yakuza group in the Kitakyushu area, and like other yakuza groups based in the northern Kyushu region, it is noted for its extremely militant stance, by using the likes of machine guns and hand grenades in their activities. The Kudo-kai is regarded as the best example of Kyushu yakuza who strongly oppose the police, get angry easily, and "fight with pride". The National Police Agency's official report refers to the Kudo-kai as a "particularly nefarious group". One notable incident happened in March 1988, while feuding with a Triad syndicate attempting to enter the Kitakyushu area, the Kudo-kai attacked the Consulate General Fukuoka office of the People's Republic of China, which had nothing to do with the mafia, with shotguns and a dump truck. The Kudo-kai is a member of an anti-Yamaguchi fraternal federation, the Yonsha-kai, with three other northern-Kyushu based organizations, the Taishu-kai, Dojin-kai, and Kumamoto-kai. The Yonsha-kai had been known as the "Sansha-kai" until 2005 when the Kumamoto-kai joined it. The Kudo-kai is the principal member of this federation.