KOBE – The Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, a new group that split from Japan’s largest crime syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi, has issued a document declaring its launch, investigative sources said

The document criticizes Kenichi Shinoda, head of the Yamaguchi-gumi, saying his egoism is extreme, the sources said Monday.

The splinter group is led by Kunio Inoue, the boss of the Yamaken-gumi who was recently expelled from the Yamaguchi-gumi.

The document says that ignoring Shinoda’s extreme egoism would lead to the self-destruction of the traditional Yamaguchi-gumi and notes that dissident factions have bolted to protect the will of past leaders, the sources said.

Inoue’s name was written at the end of the document. The Yamaken-gumi was once headed by the previous boss of the gang.

The Yamaguchi-gumi “excommunicated” or “insulated” the leaders of 13 affiliates after it and other groups under its umbrella showed signs of defecting in late August.

Approximately 3,000 members have left the Yamaguchi-gumi in the latest rift among yakuza gangsters.