Investigators examine the street where the former gangster was shot dead.

Ex-yakuza shot dead in Tokyo

Tokyo mobster gets plugged

A former yakuza was shot dead in a busy street in downtown Tokyo on Sunday morning, police said.

At around 10:55 a.m. on Sunday, police received an emergency call from a passer-by, reporting that a man had been shot on a street in the Ueno district of Taito-ku, Tokyo.

The man, who had been shot in the back three times, was rushed to a hospital where he died shortly afterwards. He has been identified as Shinichi Nakanishi, 42, a former adviser to a gang affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi crime syndicate. He had been expelled from the organization last month.

A number of men were spotted fleeing the scene immediately after the incident. The Metropolitan Police Department anti-gang division is searching for the men on suspicion of murder.

The scene is situated near the popular Ameyoko shopping district.