is a retired

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the ter ...

best known for his arrest in 2003, who was dubbed the "loan shark king". He has been introduced as a senior member of the

Shizuoka Shizuoka can refer to: * Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture * Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture * Shizuoka Airport * Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture ...

-based Goryo-kai, a secondary organization of Japan's largest yakuza syndicate, the

Yamaguchi-gumi is Japan's largest '' yakuza'' organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for dockworkers in Kobe before World War II. It is one of the largest criminal organizations i ...

, although he was technically not a member of the Goryo-kai."Alleged loan shark kingpin arrested"
August 12, 2003, ''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched b ...

Career

He began his career as a yakuza after graduating from middle school, when he met the head of the Suzuki-gumi, an Inagawa affiliate, in jail. He joined the Suzuki-gumi and founded a yamikin organization in

Shinjuku, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

, launching his underground financial business."Susumu Kajiyama"
''Yakuza Wiki'' He left the Suzuki-gumi in 1997 and along with his elementary school senior Yasuo Takagi, he joined the Shizuoka-based Mio-gumi, a tertiary organization of the

Goryo-kai

In October 2002, following the retirement of the head of the Mio-gumi, Yasuo Takagi formed the Goryo-kai as the successor to the Mio-gumi. Kajiyama didn't join the Goryo-kai, retiring from the Yakuza world, but kept a strong connection with the Goryo-kai as the CEO of the Goryo-kai's underground finance ring.

Arrest

He was operating over 1,000 underground loan companies by August 2003, with estimated annual earnings of over $1 billion. In August 2003 he was arrested for violating the investment law by "supervising moneylenders providing loans at unlawfully high interest rates". He was convicted of 14 charges against him by 2005, and was sentenced to seven years in prison in February for money laundering involving the Standard Chartered Bank and Credit Suisse.

Involvement in politics

In August 2003,

Shizuka Kamei is a former Japanese politician and a former chairman of the Parliamentary League for the Abolition of the Death Penalty. Early life He was born in the city of Shōbara in Hiroshima Prefecture into a poor family. He studied at the department o ...

, then a senior member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and former Senior Superintendent of the

National Police Agency National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: Cuban National Police *East Timor: National Police of ...

, acknowledged receiving political donations from Kajiyama."Out of the shadows"
August 19, 2003, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' an
"Shizuka Kamei, political donations from the loan shark king, Susumu Kajiyama"
, August 15, 2003, ''Rondan'' o

August 17, 2003, ''

Shimbun Akahata is the daily organ of the Japanese Communist Party in the form of a national newspaper. It was founded in 1928 and currently has both daily and weekly editions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kajiyama, susumu Yakuza members Yamaguchi-gumi People convicted of racketeering Living people Year of birth missing (living people)