Japan dumpling boss shot dead
Tokyo (AFP) - The boss of a well-known dumpling restaurant chain was shot dead on Thursday in the ancient Japanese city of Kyoto, a hotbed of the country's yakuza mobsters, the company and media said.
Takayuki Ohigashi, 72, was found bleeding and unconscious in a parking lot in front of the company's headquarters in Kyoto at about 7:00 am, the Ohsho Food Service company said.
He was later confirmed dead at hospital, a spokesman for the company told AFP.
He was bleeding from three wounds to his torso and spent cartridges were left at the site, suggesting he had been shot multiple times, a local rescuer and media reports said.
"Police will soon set up a special investigative team as we believe it was a murder case," said a local police officer.
Ohigashi was president of the "Gyoza no Ohsho (King of Dumplings)" chain, operating more than 650 restaurants throughout Japan, as well as a handful abroad.
"He is not the type of person who would make enemies or incur resentment from people," company spokesman Koji Uchida said.
Ohigashi was reputed to be a popular businessman who turned around the once-struggling restaurant chain.
"He would come to work early and clean the entrance of the headquarters building himself every morning," Uchida said, referring to a practice among some senior businessmen who want to show camaraderie with their staff in status-conscious Japan.
Shares in the victim's company dropped 3.21 percent to 3,010 yen by the break in Tokyo trading, as the broader Nikkei index added 1.60 percent.
Gun crime is rare in Japan, and incidents involving firearms usually have a connection to yakuza organised crime groups.
