Tadamasa Goto, a Japanese crime boss and yakuza, died on February 8, 2026.
He was the founding head of the Goto-gumi, a Fujinomiya-based affiliate of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan’s largest yakuza syndicate. Born in Tokyo on September 16, 1942, Goto was convicted at least nine times and at one point was described as the most powerful crime boss in Tokyo, earning the nickname “the John Gotti of Japan.” He was once claimed to have been the largest shareholder in Japan Airlines, though that claim was disputed by stock exchange filings.
Tadamasa Goto (後藤 忠政, Gotō Tadamasa; September 16, 1942 – February 8, 2026) was a Japanese yakuza. He was the founding head of the Goto-gumi, a Fujinomiya-based affiliate of Japan’s largest yakuza syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi. Goto, who had been convicted at least nine times, was a prominent yakuza and at one point the most powerful crime boss in Tokyo, even being dubbed the “John Gotti of Japan”. Goto was once claimed to have been the largest shareholder in Japan Airlines, but this was disputed by stock exchange filings.