Yakuza member arrested over insurance fraud after cutting off own finger

Gifu Prefectural Police have arrested a man on suspicion of fraud after he allegedly cut off his own finger and claimed it was accidental in order to get national health insurance benefits.
City of Gifu resident Masahiro Nouchi, 58, a high-ranking member of the Yamaguchi-gumi crime syndicate’s Kodokai faction, allegedly cut off his own finger in a yubitsume ritual. The ritual, now usually only carried out within organized crime syndicates, involves cutting off a finger at the joint, usually starting with the left little finger. It is seen as a way to apologize or atone for a grave mistake.
According to the police, this is believed to be the first such arrest in the country involving a fraudulent health insurance claim due to yubitsume.
Nouchi is a wakagashira, or leader of henchmen, within the Kodokai. He was arrested along with two other senior members in connection with the fraud. Authorities have not disclosed whether the suspects have admitted to the allegations.
The arrest, which was made Thursday, stems from an incident on Feb. 23 last year when Nouchi allegedly cut off his own finger but reported it as an accidental injury to medical personnel in Tokyo. This would have allowed him to improperly claim benefits under the national health insurance system, which excludes coverage for intentional injuries.
In doing so, Noguchi would have avoided a payment of about ¥40,000, aside from his personal share of the costs. He was also accused of visiting a medical institution in Gifu Prefecture on March 9 of the same year and evading some ¥5,000 in treatment costs.
Nouchi had been initially arrested on Sept. 18 for using someone else’s electronic toll collection card to fraudulently claim discounts on highway tolls, in violation of laws against computer fraud.