Goto Tadamasa's Conversion

Goto Tadamasa is quite infamous in Japan as a boss in the 40,000-strong 山口組 (Yamaguchi-gumi) yakuza syndicate, one of the world's largest organised crime outfits with links to North Korea and operations in many other parts of Asia and in the U.S. as well. He is well-known for his extreme use of violence and aggression that includes activities such as the bulldozing of businesses that fail to pay protection money and the brutal beatings of his victims before the eyes of their families.

In 2001 Goto-san worked as an FBI informant in return for travel to the U.S. where he skipped to the front of the organ-donor waiting list with 700+ members to receive a life-saving liver-transplant at UCLA Medical Centre. Although he reportedly provided information that is available to anyone with an internet connection or the ability to read newspapers, his actions obviously infuriated his superiors.

Last September, Goto Tadamasa made a public spectacle of himself when he threw an extravagant birthday celebration for himself in 静岡県 (Shizuoka) and invited five of Japan's most famous enka singers (細川たかし (Hosokawa Takashi), 小林 旭 (Kobayashi Akira), 松原のぶえ (Matsubara Nobue), 角川博 (Kadokawa Hiroshi) and 中条きよし (Nakajou Kiyoshi)) to participate in a golf tournament and lavish party. This, too, enraged his fellow clan-members and also resulted in the performers' expulsion from the NHK's annual oshougatsu celebration enka concert.

Four weeks ago marked a drastic change in life for the 66-year-old Wakagashira (boss). 08-April is a day that's honoured as the birthday of Buddha in Japan and on that day Goto Tadamasa was ordained as a Tendai Buddhist priest at 成願寺 (Jyoganji Temple) in 中野区 Nakano-ku (a district of Tokyo at the west edge of the city). It's a lifestyle change that's met with skepticism and criticism as well as with praise and understanding. Critics believe the move to be nothing more than an escape route away from the leaders of the Yamaguchi-gumi from which Goto-san has been outcast. Others are more sympathetic to his goals, and see him as a changed man who wishes to make amends for his life of evil and live the rest of his life in service to his fellow man. It's too soon to determine his true motives, of course.

What do YOU think?

Thanks to Jake Adelstein, former crime reporter for the Yomiuri Shimbun, for many of the details in this post.