Yoshio Kodama (児玉誉士夫 Kodama Yoshio; born on February 18th, 1911, deceased on January 17th, 1984) was an important figure of the Organized crime to the Japan. It was active in the political scene as much as in the world of the crime of years 1950 at the years 1970.

Biography

Its beginnings in the " milieu": ultranationalism

Born in the Nihonmatsu (Japan) in a poor family, it grew in Korea, then occupied. As of its more young age, Kodama shows much interest for the policy and, and at the end of the years 1920, at the 21 years age, it enters the Société of the black Ocean (Genyosa). Founded in 1881 by Mitsuru Toyama and of aspiration ultranationalist, the Company of the black Ocean protected the interests from certain mining and industrial consortia, in their affecting strikebreakers or bodyguards, for the majority of the Yakuza, whose Toyama was the godfather. Genyosa also had objectives of a political nature: initially, restoration of the traditional values incarnated by the Emperor and, in addition, militarization of Japan. Toyama fought for the supremacy of its country on all the Asia (Genyosa, “the black ocean” indicates the three passages linking Japan, China and Korea). The group also aimed at the assassination of several Japanese politicians, this is why Yoshio Kodama finally was stopped and condemned to 3 years and half of prison.

The turning of the Second world war

When he finished purging his sorrow, the Japanese government contacted it, in order to help with the routing of the provisioning for the effort of war apart from Eastern Asia, and in Japan. He makes a success of this mission, thanks to the network of allies which he had woven in his youth, in Korea. Thanks to this cover, Kodama plunders the Chinese resources, is invested in the traffic of opium and the traffic of weapons. Thanks to this vast network, Kodama gained a fortune (more than 175 million dollars, which did of him one of the richest men of Asia).

At the end of the second world war, It was stopped by the the United States, as a war criminal. It was retained in the prison of Sugamo with Ryoichi Sasakawa, with which it bound friendship. He also wrote Sugamo Diary (its experiment in prison) and I Was Defeated (a Autobiographie).
Les the United States released it later, in exchange of its assistance in the combat against the Communisme in Asia. He concludes a pact with the G-2 forces (a section of the information of the occupying forces in 1950), and worked for the CIA like bond with the Yakuza. Kodama, being a ultranationalist of right-hand side, accepted, and used its fortune and its network of the contacts to alleviate the conflicts, to uproot the communist sympathizers, and fight the socialist presence in Japan.
Kodama also wished that the various gangs join and form nothing any more but one. After several years of fights, he managed an agreement between various families, by organizing truces, between the Yamaguchi-gumi and the Tosei-kai in particular, directed by his colleague Hisayuki Machii. Therefore he is regarded today as being the first Parrain of the underworld Japanese woman.
Kodama was also implied in a certain number of scandals in the post-war period. Most important of them is the Lockheed scandal of the years 1970, which put has great day the bonds linking Kodama and the CIA. The reputation of Kodama is destroyed by this business and, for the first time for 50 years, it has had to be explained in front of the justice of its country. It takes refuge in its residence deprived following a series of attacks, and because it is the target of the media. It is victim of an attack kamikaze, a plane manually-controlled by Mitsuyasu Maeno, actor X and disillusioned ultranationalist, who tries to kill it while being crushed on his house in Tokyo, but Kodama will escape from it.

He dies the January 17th 1984 in his bed.