FUKUOKA (Kyodo) An object resembling a hand grenade was found at the entrance of the residence of Saibu Gas Co. President Yuji Tanaka in the city of Fukuoka on Saturday, prompting police to send an explosives unit to remove it, they said.
Shortly afterward, part of a garage belonging to Kyushu Electric Power Co. Chairman Shingo Matsuo was found destroyed in the same city, the police said, adding that an explosive may have been used.
No one was hurt in either incident, but the police are probing them further on suspicion the two regional business leaders were targeted by the Kudokai, a crime syndicate based in Kitakyushu.
According to the companies, no letters or phone calls of a threatening nature were found or received before the incidents, nor was Tanaka home when his family found the suspicious object.
Saibu Gas, a city gas supplier, has been the target of attacks since 2007.