Kudo-kai

The Kudo-kai (工藤會, Kudō-kai?) is a yakuza group headquartered in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka on the Kyushu island of Japan, with an estimated 630 active members. An article by the Independent newspaper refers to the Kudo-kai as an affiliate of the Yamaguchi-gumi, but that is false. The Kudo-kai has been a purely independent syndicate ever since its foundation, and has caused numerous conflicts with the Yamaguchi-gumi (at least on eight separate occasions in 2000; at least one Yamaguchi-affiliate boss was shot to death by the Kudo-kai in 2000). The Independent article may mean "Kodo-kai".