Japan yakuza member arrested on suspicion of insurance fraud after cutting off own finger

A senior member of one of Japan’s most feared “yakuza” underworld gangs has been arrested on suspicion of defrauding the health insurance system after claiming he lost a finger in an industrial accident – only for it later to emerge that he had cut the finger off himself.

Masahiro Nouchi, a 58-year-old member of the Kodo-kai yakuza group, was arrested on October 10 by police in Gifu prefecture, in central Japan, on suspicion of fraud, the Sankei newspaper reported.

Police sources said Nouchi intentionally amputated one of his little fingers on February 23 last year but told doctors at a hospital in Tokyo that he had lost the digit in an industrial accident. Nouchi’s initial treatment cost 40,000 yen (US$268), while follow-up procedures at a hospital in Gifu cost an additional 5,000 yen, all of which was covered by national health insurance.

Media reports have not detailed how Nouchi’s efforts to defraud the health system were uncovered, but his arrest is the first time a gang member has been arrested for trying to cover the costs associated with an act of self-harm.

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Yubitsume, which means “finger shortening”, is a ritual in Japan’s underworld whereby a yakuza amputates a part of their little finger to express a sincere apology for a transgression.