Ramen Shop Owner with Yakuza Ties Dead in Possible Shooting

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:59 JST, April 23, 2023

The owner of a ramen restaurant in Kobe who was also a leader of a yakuza-affiliated group died on Saturday in the city, possibly from a gunshot wound. Manabu Yojima, 57, owner of restaurant “Ryu no hige” in Nagata Ward, was found collapsed and bleeding from the head in the restaurant’s kitchen by a female employee on Saturday morning. He was rushed to the hospital but later died. Yojima was a leader of a group affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi, a designated organized crime syndicate based in Kobe, according to the Hyogo Prefectural Police.

Imaging of his head confirmed that Yojima had been shot with what appeared to be a bullet. Suspecting murder, the prefectural police established an investigation headquarters at the Nagata Police Station on the same day. Yojima was possibly shot and killed in a power struggle between yakuza groups, the police said.

According to the police announcement, the female employee was asked by Yojima to do some shopping, and when she returned to the restaurant, she found him collapsed in the kitchen. There were no customers at the restaurant at the time and no gun was found.