KITA-KYUSHU—A resident of Kita-Kyushu recalled the time he was ashamed of his hometown.

When he took business trips to Tokyo, he pretended to be from Fukuoka city. If he told the truth, he said, people would be astonished that “I was from such a horrific place.”

Kita-Kyushu has come a long way from those days when it was known for violence and crimes related to a notorious yakuza crime syndicate headquartered in the city.

Now, a municipality-issued bulletin publicizes Kita-Kyushu as a “safe and secure town.” And statistics support that claim.

Kenji Kitahashi was already Kita-Kyushu’s mayor when the city, Fukuoka Prefecture and prefectural police strengthened a crackdown against Kudo-kai, the only special-designated dangerous yakuza group in Japan, in the early 2010s.

During a municipal assembly session in September last year, Kitahashi, 69, looked back on his four terms spanning 16 years.

“I feel strongly that I have overcome the difficulties Kita-Kyushu faced,” said Kitahashi, who will retire in February.

The city bulletin details its accomplishments in improving safety up to fiscal 2020.

“Confirmed criminal offenses are down by about 87 percent from the peak in 2002,” it said. The decline is described as “the sharpest among 12 major cities.”

The success of Kita-Kyushu’s cleanup program may have surprised even Kitahashi.

At an assembly meeting six and a half years ago, he suggested it may take 50 years to improve the city’s security.

“There may still be a long way to go,” he said at the time. “But I will make all-out efforts so our municipality will be recognized by those around us as the safest town in the near future, before the 100th anniversary (in 2063) of the founding of the city.”

GRENADE, PISTOLS

A 68-year-old man who has been running a “snack” bar for around 40 years in an entertainment zone in the city’s Kokura-Kita Ward recalled the time when gangsters frequented high-profile stores.

“It was said that one could only become a somebody after being assaulted by yakuza,” he said. “I really didn’t want to be a manager who had to deal with their trouble.”

A grenade was thrown into a nightclub in a commercial district in Kokura-Kita Ward on Aug. 18, 2003, injuring 12 individuals, including staff members.

The attack stunned Japanese society. But more evidence of the potency of the yakuza emerged.

A Russian-made anti-tank rocket launcher was seized in a warehouse in a residential area of the city, while an imitation grenade was found in a flower bed in front of JR Kokura Station.

Kita-Kyushu became denigrated online as the “Land of Asura,” a fictional nation from the popular manga series “Fist of the North Star” where only “1 percent of men can survive.”

A police officer harked back to those days and expressed feelings of shame.

“Kudo-kai could get its own way with everything,” the officer said.

Fukuoka prefectural police in 2003 set up a station in Sakaimachi Park in an entertainment area for a special unit tasked with eliminating Kudo-kai’s influence.

The 18th day of each month was designated as “the day of expelling crime syndicates,” and patrols were deployed.

The crackdown against Kudo-kai went into full swing after the prefecture enforced an anti-gangster ordinance in 2010.

It prohibited citizens from “providing benefits” to yakuza members. That meant businesses could be penalized for giving “protection money” or other extortion-type payments to gangsters.

Although business owners and citizens continued to face intimidation tactics, they added to the anti-gang momentum by marching in protest against yakuza activity, including near Kudo-kai’s offices.

Businesses in 2012 started displaying signs designed to further isolate the increasingly fund-depleted gangsters from society.

In December 2012, the Fukuoka prefectural public safety commission placed Kudo-kai in the special-designated dangerous yakuza category, making it easier for police to promptly arrest gang members over a wider range of offenses.

In September 2014, police started “Operation Summit” and apprehended Satoru Nomura, now 76, head of Kudo-kai, on suspicion of murder. He was later rearrested on suspicion of attempted murder and other crimes.

He was convicted and sentenced to death in 2021.

By February 2020, the Kudo-kai headquarters in Kokura-Kita Ward had been torn down. Fukuoka Prefecture set up its center for the removal of criminal organizations at the site.

It was later bought by nonprofit group Hoboku for redevelopment as a welfare center.

According to prefectural police data, the number of Kudo-kai members and quasi-members dropped by more than 70 percent from its peak in 2008 to 320 at the end of 2022.

Around 82 percent of stores and shops in the city were displaying anti-yakuza signs in December last year, compared with 54 percent in late 2014.

CRIME PLUMMETS

Police confirmed 5,109 criminal offenses in Kita-Kyushu in 2021, down by 35,280, or 87 percent, from the peak number recorded in 2002.

The 2021 figure translates into 549 criminal offenses per 100,000 residents, which placed Kita-Kyushu seventh among 12 major cities.

The municipality improved from the 10th spot in 2002.

A Kita-Kyushu survey on 3,000 residents showed that 84.1 percent felt that security measures had made the city “very safe,” “relatively safe” or “not particularly bad” in fiscal 2021, a 7.4-point increase from fiscal 2013.

Asked to select which of the city’s 34 policies and projects they admired, most citizens cited “moves against crimes and gangs” for the eighth straight year since fiscal 2015.

In comparison, 10,191 criminal offenses were reported in 2021 in the prefectural capital of Fukuoka, down 47,387, or 82 percent, from 2002.

The 2021 number of crimes per 100,000 people was 629, moving Fukuoka up to 10th place among the 12 major cities from 11th in 2002.

A Fukuoka city survey for fiscal 2021 on 4,500 residents found that 67.8 percent thought the city was “safe” or “somewhat safe,” 7.2 points higher than the figure for fiscal 2013.

The number of thefts per 100,000 residents was 446 in Fukuoka in fiscal 2021, 30 percent more than that of Kita-Kyushu.

But if bicycle thefts are deducted from the total, Kita-Kyushu has a higher per capita crime rate than Fukuoka. Bicycles are more common in Fukuoka city, given its wide area of relatively flat land.

Kita-Kyushu also has more cases of violent crimes, including threats, blackmail and assaults leading to injuries, than Fukuoka.

LINGERING THREATS

A Kita-Kyushu government official vowed to accelerate anti-crime measures to convert the municipality into a “town boasting top-class safety across Japan.”

“It would be unforgivable to tarnish the image of Kita-Kyushu, now that it has improved,” the official said.

A city program started in April last year to help mobsters sever their ties to yakuza organizations and transition back into society.

A Fukuoka Prefecture ordinance in December was enforced first in Kita-Kyushu to prevent touts from luring customers to dodgy businesses on the south side of Kokura Station.

“I could not imagine the municipality would become so safe,” said a man in his 70s who has campaigned against gangs in Kita-Kyushu and was assaulted by Kudo-kai members.

However, he added: “No one feels we are 100 percent secure. Kudo-kai still exists, and minor gangs may run rampant instead.”

His home is equipped with a police-supplied emergency report system and multiple surveillance cameras.