Staff writer
KOBE -- Today, at its headquarters in an exclusive Kobe neighborhood, Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest and most well-known underworld syndicate, will mark its 10th anniversary under the leadership of fifth don Yoshinori Watanabe.
"It's likely to be a quiet celebration," said Osaka lawyer Yukio Yamanouchi, once a legal adviser to the gang. "It will certainly not be the huge affair reminiscent of his accession ceremony at a local shrine, which drew not only the leaders of nearly 100 affiliated gangs from around the nation but rival gang leaders as well."