A yakuza executive pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in the first trial hearing for the 2013 fatal shooting of the Gyoza no Ohsho restaurant chain president in Kyoto. Yukio Tanaka, 59, stated, "I'm definitely not the culprit," challenging the prosecution's evidence as circumstantial. The case will be heard by professional judges only, with a ruling scheduled for October 16, 2026.
On the early morning of December 19, 2013, Takayuki Ohigashi, then 72 and president of Ohsho Food Service Corp., was shot in the chest and stomach with a handgun in front of the company's headquarters in Yamashina Ward, Kyoto, leading to his death. Yukio Tanaka, a 59-year-old executive of an affiliate of the Kudokai—a legally designated dangerous yakuza group—faces charges of murder in the case.
At the first trial hearing on November 26, 2025, at Kyoto District Court, Tanaka pleaded not guilty, stating, "I'm definitely not the culprit" in the shooting of Ohigashi. Presided over by Judge Atsushi Nishikawa, the proceedings highlighted a lack of confirmed direct link between Tanaka and Ohigashi, with the motive remaining unclear.
In its opening statement, the prosecution claimed that DNA from two cigarette butts found at the scene perfectly matched Tanaka's. They also presented video footage showing a person resembling Tanaka in height, physical build, and walking style near the victim's house a day before the murder.
The defense countered that the evidence is "not decisive," describing it as entirely circumstantial. They suggested plans to establish an alibi, claiming Tanaka may have been in Fukuoka Prefecture on the day of the shooting. Prosecutors are expected to build a case through circumstantial evidence and clarify the background, according to people familiar with the matter.
The defense's special appeal for a lay judge trial was rejected by the Supreme Court in November 2024, so the homicide case will be examined solely by professional judges. The ruling is set for October 16, 2026.