Police nab Japan gangster after 24-hr standoff

NAGAKUTE, Japan, May 18 (Reuters) Japanese police nabbed a former gangster today, ending a more than 24-hour standoff during which the man shot a policeman dead after wounding his own son, daughter and another police officer and holing up in his suburban house.

Television footage showed over a dozen policemen with helmets and shields surrounding the former gangster after he came out of his house holding a plastic bag and bottle. Media reports said he has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

In the latest shoot-out to rattle Japan, a policeman who was a member of a special assault unit was fatally shot yesterday evening while his colleague who had been hit earlier was being rescued.

Earlier today, police rescued the gunman's hostage, who a police spokesman was the gunman's ex-wife and came out of the house in Nagakute, a residential suburb of the central city of Nagoya, by herself.

The stand-off comes a month after a gangster shot a fellow mobster in a Tokyo suburb and hid in an apartment before shooting himself, and another gangster shot dead the mayor of Nagasaki, shocking a country where gun control is tough and shootings rare.

About 170 officers, including riot police and special units, were mobilised around the gunman's house, and local schools were closed today.

''We must push ahead with effective measures to control firearms, including steps against gangsters, so that such an incident won't happen again,'' Kensei Mizote, cabinet minister in charge of the police force, told reporters.

TV footage earlier showed helmeted police with riot shields rescuing the first policeman, who had been left lying in front of the house for hours because of threats from the gunman, a former member of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest crime syndicate.

During that rescue, the gunman shot at police from the house and a bullet fatally hit the special unit officer in the neck, which was not covered by his bullet-proof vest, Mizote said.

Media reports said the man had taken the gun out after he and his ex-wife, along with their children, were talking about reconciling.

GUN CONTROL Last month's shootings prompted calls for even stiffer gun control in a country where legal firearms are mostly in the hands of police and hunters.

Illegal guns tend to be owned by members of the ''yakuza'', crime syndicates whose mainstays include prostitution, drugs, extortion and even finance operations.

The recent shootings have revived international interest in the yakuza, whose members have been known for their elaborate tattoos and missing little fingers -- cut off to apologise for mistakes or show loyalty to the boss.

The tattoos and the missing fingers are no longer trademarks among contemporary gangsters, who have attempted to blend into society and invest in legitimate businesses.

Official yakuza membership stood at 41,500 in 2006, slightly down from 2005, while the number of hangers-on rose marginally to 43,200. Gang membership in itself is not a crime in Japan.

Gun-related crimes are rare in Japan and on the decline. The number of shootings fell to a record-low 53 last year, with most involving members of organised crime. Of those, 36 were thought to have involved gangsters. Only two resulted in deaths.

REUTERS SYU VV1825