Sandan Yoshiharu (山段芳春)
Yoshiharu SANDAN (1930 - 1998) was a former chairperson of Kyoto Autonomous Economic Association.
He had a great power in political and business world and was a big figure of the dark society in Kansai region, as being called 'a fixer in Kyoto.'
He was from Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto Prefecture. Having The Kyoto Shinkin Bank at his back, he raised himself in post-war Kyoto. He had a broad network in various fields, such as political and business world, government, medical association, labor unions, prefectural police and Public Prosecutors' Office, and he even ruled mass media like Kyoto Broadcasting System Co., Ltd., The Kyoto Shimbun Newspaper Co., Ltd. He boasted his latent power as a key person in Kyoto, such as having a strong connection with the dark society including Aizu Kotetsu-kai (one of the Japanese organized crime syndicates) led by Tokutaro TAKAYAMA who had a close relationship with him, and also exerted a huge influence on taking the position of the past mayors of Kyoto City, but his handling of the incident of buying up stocks of Kyoto Bank led to a misunderstanding, and later dividers from various fields caused his power to be diminished.
He devoted himself to the social welfare activity in his later life.
With his broad network, he built a rare vested-interest structure in Kyoto society and reigned over its top, and this makes some people to call him Kakuei TANAKA in Kyoto (since 1984, Hiromu NONAKA became the boss in Kyoto.)
However, his existence had long been unknown to public and by having kept wielding influences behind the scenes made him enough to be called 'backroom manipulator.'