the Maebashi District Court sentenced a 41 year old gangster to death for killing a

the Maebashi District Court sentenced a 41 year old gangster to death for killing a gang member and three bystanders in a shooting at a bar in Maebashi. Kenichiro Yamada, a senior member of the Yano Mutsumi-kai group, and another member of the gang, Masato Kohinata, 38, fired guns at the bar on Jan 25, 2003, killing a bodyguard of the rival group's former boss and three members of the public. Two other people, including the former boss, were left seriously injured. The two were involved in the shooting under the direction of Osamu Yano, 59 year old head of the Yano Mutsumi-kai. Yano is appealing the death sentence given by the district court, while Kohinata is appealing to the Supreme Court his sentence of capital punishment handed down by both the district and high courts.