Japanese Gangster Opens Fire On Three Debt Collectors, Then Commits Suicide

November 6, 2009 12:27 p.m. EST

Tokyo, Japan (AHN) - A Japanese gangster turned the tables and a weapon on three would-be debt collectors. After he wounded the men, he killed himself.

According to published reports, Kenji Hayashi, 62, started shooting at the trio when they approached him Friday at a real estate agent's office in Yokohama. When questioned by police, one of the wounded said they were trying to collect money when he began firing.

After surrounding the residential building he was in, law enforcement officials tracked Hayashi to his office and found him slumped over dead. Hayashi was found bleeding from his ear with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Investigators said he was a member of the notorious Inagawa-kai crime group. Japanese media said the whole ordeal was gang related.

A police spokesman said one of the injured men was in critical condition and the other two were lightly wounded. The men, aged between 58 to 69, had gunshot wounds in the stomach and neck.

The shooting sent shock waves through the island nation as gun violence is rare due to strict gun control laws and is often associated with the Japanese mafia, known as the Yakuza.