TOKYO (TR) – A 27-year-old top cabaret club hostess and YouTuber was arrested for possessing cocaine, but it was a cryptic hand gesture flashed at the media that is drawing the attention of police to her underworld ties, reports weekly tabloid Friday (Nov. 6).
In September, Rino Tazawa, known online as “Yamato Rino,” was arrested in flagrante delicto at her home for possessing 0.4 grams of cocaine, divided into 21 small baggies. She was subsequently rearrested on suspicion of using both cocaine and ketamine.
However, it was her demeanor during her transfer to prosecutors that caused a stir. As she sat in the back of a police vehicle, Tazawa — who recently served as a judge on the hostess club audition show “Last Call” — flashed a defiant smile. Using her right thumb, index, and middle fingers, she formed a “C-shape” for the press cameras.
True meaning
While the gesture sparked various interpretations online, former Tokyo Metropolitan Police inspector Akihari Hirano revealed the sign’s true meaning: it represents the number “3” and is a recognized gang sign for “Santama.”
The Santama region encompasses western Tokyo municipalities such as Tachikawa, Hachioji, Machida, and Fussa. According to Hirano, who previously interrogated Fussa City-based rapper Kenny-G over the exact same hand gesture, the sign is used by local street gangs (hangure).
“It was a Santama gang sign. I believe she wanted to appeal that she is an affiliate of those groups,” Hirano noted.
True meaning
The arrest highlights a growing intersection between nightlife workers, crime rings and the yakuza. In January, Tokyo police established a task force to dismantle the Kohei-ikka, a powerful affiliate of the Sumiyoshi-kai yakuza syndicate. Police suspect the group is deeply tied to tokuryu syndicates, which are anonymous crime groups whose members communicate via smartphone while operating in the high-end entertainment districts of Roppongi and Nishi Azabu.
In these locations, hostesses are known to fraternize with underworld figures, with cocaine being heavily utilized and referred to by the slang term charinko (bicycle). Wealthy clients often invite hostesses to “go pedal a bicycle” at after-parties. Rather than just getting high, hostesses reportedly use the stimulant to sober up, allowing them to drink more alcohol with VIP customers.
These VIPs are frequently escorted by Santama-based hangure acting as bodyguards, who reportedly source their narcotics directly from a Kohei-ikka subgroup.
The police crackdown on these tokuryu networks recently exposed severe internal corruption. In March, former anti-organized crime detective Daisuke Jinbo was handed a suspended 18-month prison sentence for leaking confidential raid information and police camera locations to Natural, Japan’s largest illegal scouting group and a major tokuryu syndicate.