Japan thanks Thailand for capturing yakuza call center boss "Yamaguchi" 

Japanese law enforcement authorities on Wednesday (April 9) thanked the Royal Thai Police (RTP) for arresting a Japanese national identified as “Yamaguchi,” the leader of the Yamaguchi-gumi—a well-known Japanese organized crime group.

The operation is part of the RTP’s ongoing crackdown on call center scam syndicates operating in Thailand and neighboring countries since February this year.

Police General Thatchai Pitaneelabutr, RTP Inspector General and Director of the Cyber Crime Suppression Center, said on Saturday that he attended a high-level meeting at Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) with top Japanese law enforcement officials, including Yoshinobu Kusunoki, Commissioner-General of the NPA; Arishika Eguchi, Commissioner of the Crime Suppression Division; Kazumi Ogasawara, Commissioner of International Affairs; Ryo Yasueda, Director of International Investigations; and Yoshitaka Sato, Chief of Crime Suppression Division 2.

The meeting followed a major operation by Thai police targeting call center scam networks. In February 2025, Thai authorities arrested Yamaguchi, a Japanese national and leader of the infamous Yamaguchi-gumi.

Yamaguchi had been running call center scam operations based in Cambodia and Myawaddy, Myanmar, and was hiding in a luxury apartment in Bangkok's Sathorn district, using a high-end art photography website as a front for his illegal activities, Thatchai said.

Following his arrest, Yamaguchi was extradited to Japan, where his capture received widespread media coverage and drew strong public interest. The National Police Agency of Japan subsequently issued a formal certificate of gratitude to the Thai police and expressed deep appreciation for their efforts.

Thatchai added that during the discussions, Japanese police highlighted the severity of the call center scam problem in Japan, noting that many citizens have been defrauded of vast sums of money. Many of the call centers had been illegally established in Myawaddy and Cambodia, under Yamaguchi’s leadership.

Thailand and Japan have agreed to work closely together to eliminate call center scams, which are affecting citizens in both countries. This collaboration will include intelligence sharing, joint operations, and aggressive enforcement measures under what has been dubbed the "Bridge-Busting Operation"—a coordinated crackdown aimed at dismantling the networks and infrastructure supporting these criminal organizations, Thatchai said.