Yoshinori Watanabe

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Yoshinori Watanabe (渡辺芳則 Watanabe Yoshinori; January 8, 1941 - ) was the fifth kumicho (chairman or Godfather) of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza organization.

He rose to power in 1989, at a time when a weakened Yamaguchi-gumi was struggling to recover from the three-year Yama-Ichi War. But under Watanabe's leadership, the gang again rose to unexpected heights and financial prosperity.

After the Kobe earthquake of 1995, Watanabe ordered his yakuza soldiers to distribute food and supplies to survivors.

On Friday July 29, 2005, Yoshinori Watanabe stepped down as kumicho. He was the first kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi to be succeeded while alive. The announcement was made at a meeting of high ranking Yamaguchi bosses at which saiko-komon Saizo Kishimoto read a prepared statement. Many of the yakuza in attendance reportedly burst into tears at the news. Watanabe was replaced by his second-in-command Kenichi Shinoda.

On his retirement, he was quoted as saying "I've been kumicho for 16 years, but I have been sick for the past four years and can no longer fulfill my responsibilities." Watanabe, an expert on Chinese literature in his spare time, is reportedly in poor health.

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Preceded by (none)	Kaicho of Kenryu-kai 1969?-1982	Succeeded by Kaneyoshi Kuwata
Preceded by Kenichi Yamamoto	Kumicho of Yamaken-gumi 1982-1989	Succeeded by Kaneyoshi Kuwata
Preceded by Masahisa Takenaka	Kumicho of Yamaguchi-gumi 1989-2005	Succeeded by Shinobu Tsukasa