Shun Akiyama

Shun Akiyama (29 May 1978-) was a Japanese loan shark and multi-millionaire (with a net worth of ¥100 billion in 2010, equivalent to around $700 million in 2021) who was nicknamed "The Lifeline of Kabukicho" for his provision of limitless, interest-free loans to people who passed his tests of character.

Biography[]

Early career[]

Shun Akiyama was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1978, and he enjoyed a privileged upbringing. He graduated from Touto University with top honors and a business degree at the top of his class. He was hired by Akihiko Yamori, the head of the Touto Bank's investment branch, who offered Akiyama a position. He became the top employee in the investment department, and he worked with Hana Hirano and dated his fellow employee Eri, with whom he became engaged. In 2005, however, he was fired after a jealous Yamori took ¥1,000,000 from one of Akiyama's clients' accounts and deposited it into Akiyama's own account, thus framing him for embezzlement. Akiyama spent his entire life savings while trying to investigate who was behind his framing and firing, and he ended up broke and homeless, with Eri deserting him and marrying Yamori instead.

From rags to riches[]

In December 2005, the 27-year-old Akiyama was sleeping in Theater Square when a bomb exploded at the Millennium Tower, causing ¥10 million to rain down onto the streets beow. Akiyama grabbed around ¥1,000,000 in bills before passing out on the streets. While he was attacked by "homeless hunters" - punks who got a thrill from attacking homeless people - he was rescued by undercover policeman Hiroaki Arai, causing the two to form a friendship.

Unable to afford housing with his new money, Akiyama started day-trading and amssed enough money to start futures trading. He eventually opened up Sky Finance with his former co-worker Hana, who served as his secretary. Akiyama earned himself "the Lifeline of Kabukicho" for his generous loan policies, amassing a net worth of over ¥100 billion. He also started funding Kanemura Enterprises with the promsie that Arai would take over the family as patriarch one day. At the same time, Akiyama was known to be a lackadaisical person who often spent time sleeping on his office's couch. He developed a system of selectively lending out his money; he gave unique tests to his clients to judge their character before loaning them money if he felt they needed it. His slacker attitude caused Hana to frequently criticize him, and he regularly forgot trash and debt collection days. He also distrusted banks, causing him to store his entire personal wealth in a vault hidden behind a bookcase. However, Akiyama was exceedingly kind to the homeless people of Kabukicho, often buying them food and drinks.

The Ueno Seiwa incident[]

During a collection run on the evening of 1 March 2010, Akiyama dropped in on his friend Takeshi Kido after noticing him entering the Kanemura Enterprises building, and he learned that members of the Uenoseiwa-kai clan were causing trouble at Club Elnard on Tojo-kai turf. Because Arai was tasked with handling the problem, Akiyama decided to help out, as his intervention as a civilian wouldn't implicate Kanemura and therefore help prevent a war. Along the way, he beat down some thugs from the rival Kabukicho Loans company, including their boss Kenji Watanabe. On arriving at the club, Akiyama picked a fight with Masaru Ihara and Yutaka Mishima, beating both of the men in a fight before Arai arrived. Upon seeing Arai, Ihara believed that Akiyama was with the Tojo and drew a gun. Arai tried to defuse the situation, only for Ihara to shoot him and flee with Mishima. As the shot was only a grazing wound, Arai followed his attackers to stop them from causing any more trouble. Akiyama decided to return from Sky Finance's offices, once again putting off his collections, only to come across Arai's mmurder of Ihara behind the Sky Finance offices. Arai left without explaining the murder to his friend, and Akiyama met the detective Masayoshi Tanimura while gazing upon the crime scene. Mistaken for the murderer by other police, Akiyama was arrested after neglecting to follow Tanimura's advice to leave before Junji Sugiuchi could interrogate him.

Akiyama was released from custody on the morning of 2 March after Hana testified to his innocence, but Sugiuchi warned him to stay away from Kanemura Enterprises and the Ueno Seiwa Clan; he also informed him of Hiroshi Kanemura's murder. On returning to his office, Akiyama met a new client, a mysterious and shy woman going by "Lily", who resembled Akiyama's ex-girlfriend Eri, and who claimed to have worked at the Drama Queen bar after Akiyama noticed that she was using a lighter from that venue. Lily requested a loan of ¥100 million, and Akiyama - despite being surprise by the high loan - agreed to loan her the money if she could pass his test the next day. Afterwards, he met with Kido above Theater Square following Kido's questioning by Sugiuchi after Kanemura's death, and he revealed that the murderer was suspected to be a woman due to Kanemura being found half-naked and with lipstick stains on his neck. He also revealed that Arai went into hiding after killing Ihara, and said that Sugiuchi had questioned him extensively about Akiyama and his relationship to organize crime. Just then, Shibata-gumi yakuza (led by Masaki Utsumi) arrived in search of Arai (and, unbeknownst to Akiyama, "Lily"), and Akiyama had Kido warn Hana of the Shibata Family's plans to raid Sky Finance. He then defeated the Shibata goons before fleeing police who responded to the commotion, and, on returning to Sky Finance, he discovered that Hana had already defeated the Shibata men. Not long after, Akiyama also ran into the mercenary Daijiro Saigo, who offered him combat training drills after witnessing his fight with the Shibata Family.

On 3 March, Sugiuchi visited Akiyama in his offices and informed him about the trouble brewing within the Tojo-kai due to Ueno Seiwa captain Isao Katsuragi's demand for either Arai's head or the holdings of his fellow captain Goro Majima, which inclued the incredibly valuable Kabukicho Hills project. Sugiuchi also warned Akiyama that he would be placed under 24-hour surveillance due to his ties to Arai, as the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department wanted to find Arai before the Tojo or the Ueno Seiwa could get to him. Sugiuchi went on to pressure Akiyama not to interfere with his investigation, but Akiyama brushed him off. He then went about giving Lily a makeover, buying her new clothing and jewelry and taking her to his hostess club Elise, informing her that she had to earn him ¥3 million through three days' work as a hostess. Lily agreed, as she was determined to pass despite the challenge. Akiyama also took Lily on a pretend date to instruct her on how best to treat customers, and they spent a night out on the town as a "second date." While hanging out together on the roof of the building in which Lily was raised, they shared a kiss due to their growing romance. They were interrupted by Shibata thugs led by Mabuchi Miyamoto, but Akiyama swiftly beat them up and fled with Lily.

Akiyama then returned to his office and met with Kido on 4 March, and he told him of his plan to find Arai and help him flee the city. When Kido asked why Akiyama was so invested in helping Arai, Akiyama recounted how Arai had saved his life, and how he had supported his career in the yakuza out of gratitude. Hana then reminded Akiyama that he had not yet collected his debts, and he decided to drop by the Champion District first, intending on collecting from the Marimba bar. Along the way, he noticed the Drama Queen bar, and he decided to pay it a visit to learn more about Lily. He quickly learned from Rei Taguchi that Drama Queen was an okama bar (a bar for gay cross-dressers), meaning that Lily could not have worked there. When he went inside to talk to the manager Ichirō Yamamoto, he found Yamamoto's body, which had been decomposing for days. He noticed a Shibata pin on the coat, connecting his murder with Kanemura's.

When Akiyama returned to Sky Finance, he found Hana lying unconscious on the floor and the office in disarray, as Hatsushiba-kai thugs had broken into the office to steal their debtor ledger and kidnapped Kido. After calling Hana an ambulance, Akiyama headed to the rooftop to look for yakuza goons. There, he met the African-American photographer Mack Shinozuka, who taught him the art of "revelations", unusual events that demanded photography. Akiyama photographed the panty thief Yōichi Takahashi falling from a rooftop after failing to escape from one of his victims' apartments.

Shortly after, Akiyama investigated the yakuza thugs and learned that a few had gone to the Theater Square. There, he picked a fight with Akira Nakamura and his thugs, as well as the Kabukicho Loans thugs. On beating them down, he persuaded Sadanobu Takahashi and Katsumi Kobayashi to move their loansharking operation out of Kabukicho, and, before they fled, they revealed that the Hatsushiba Clan was based out of the Theater Square underground. Akiyama made his way into the underground before meeting the homeless man Kogoro Sukegawa, who nearly attacked him before discovering that Akiyama was also an enemy of the yakuza. The man insisted that he would punish the yakuza for forcing the homeless out of their hideout, and Kogoro accompanied Akiyama as he fought his way through Hatsushiba thugs, even recruiting his cowardly friend Kumanosuke Amano ("Suke-san") to pick the locks of several doors and allow Akiyama to make his way into the Hatsushiba office. Along the way, Akiyama rescued the game developer Takeichi Minamida from thugs who were attempting to destroy his machine. Akiyama proceeded to confront Hideshi Hatsushiba and his captain Takumi Midorikawa in Hatsushiba's office, demanding his ledger back. After making short work of Midorikawa, Akiyama forced Hatsushiba to give the registry back, and Hatsushiba also revealed that Shibata had ordered him to steal the ledger in order to track down Lily.

With Kido freed, Akiyama returned to Sky Finance to rest. On the night of 5 March, after learning that Lily had passed her test, Akiyama called her and told her to meet him atop Millennium Tower to collect her loan. At th emeeting, Akiyama offered Lily the chance not to pay back the money if she told him why she had been killing officers of the Shibata Family. Lily initially denied it, but Akiyama revealed his investigation of Drama Queen and his discovery of the Shibata Family's manhunt for her. While she revealed that she had initially planned on running off with the money, she swore to earn back every cent for Akiyama rather than tell him the reasons for her vendetta. Akiyama then returned to Sky Finance and told Hana of his decision to give the money to Lily, causing her to grow angry because of Lily's lack of vetting and her anger at Akiyama's failure to get over his ex, Eri, whom Lily resembled. Hana then quit, saying that she had to have some space and deal with her own feelings for Akiyama.

Not long after, Akiyama was called over to Elise, where some yakuza were making trouble. Akiyama found Daisaku Minami drunkenly singing karaoke for members of the Majima-gumi, and Akiyama annoyed Minami by shutting off the microphone. Minami then said that Goro Majima had sent him to find Lily, whom he had heard was a beauty. Akiyama said that Lily's last day was that same day, and that he did not give up personal information about employees past or present. When he asked that Minami leave, he provoked a fight with the yakuza, whom he beat down. Not long after, Majima arrived and told Minami to stand down. Majima told Akiyama that he needed to find Lily to protect her, as he had failed her 25 years prior, when he knew her as "Yasuko Saejima."

Days later, Tanimura showed up at Sky Finance, having recovered Lily's suitcase of ¥100 million now that Katsuragi had betrayed Lily; she had been told to kill the Shibata Family lieutenants and pay ¥100 million in exchange for Katsuragi presenting proof that would lead to her brother Taiga Saejima's acquittal of murder and release from prison. At the same time, Mishima - the last surviving Shibata henchman - reached out to Akiyama and requested police protection. Hoping to foil Kazuo Shibata's plot to capture Lily, Akiyama persuaded Tanimura to meet with Mishima at the docks on Tokyo Bay; Tanimura agreed, believing that he could weed out a rat in the police force by doing so.

Not long after, Katsuragi and Munakata reacted by holding Sky Finance under direct investigation by a district attorney, and Akiyama was thrown out of his office under suspicion of coercing people into taking his loans. He also discovered that his entire stash of money had been stolen. Akiyama joined forces with Tanimura and contacted Yasuko, asking her to come to Purgatory to meet up with her brother. After drugging Makoto Date, whom Kazuma Kiryu had assigned to protect her, Yasuko ran off to join Akiyama and Tanimura, who took her through the sewers to reach Purgatory. Kiryu, mistaking the two men for kidnappers, gave chase, causing the two men to tell Yasuko to continue on to Purgatory as they held Kiryu off. Kiryu took down both men before following Yasuko to Purgatory, only to find Yasuko and Taiga kidnapped and the Florist of Sai badly beaten.

Kiryu, Akiyama, and Tanimura meeting at New Serena

Akiyama and Tanimura caught up to Kiryu and also came across the scene. They soon learned that Katsuragi and Kido had kidnapped her, so Kiryu decided to bait Katsuragi into a trap by offering him an incriminating police ledger (which threatened to put Munakata and the Ueno Seiwa leaders in prison) in exchange for the ¥100 million and the release of the Saejima siblings. Tanimura and Akiyama reluctantly stayed behind as Kiryu single-handedly fought his way through the Ueno Seiwa thugs at Kabukicho Hills and secured the freedom of the Saejima siblings, only for Katsuragi and Yasuko to kill each other. Kiryu managed to free Taiga and recover the ¥100 million, although their victory was hollow due to Yasuko's death and Arai's escape.

Akiyama was greatly bereaved on hearing of Yasuko's death, as he had fallen in love with her. However, they resolved to avenge her death by bringing down all of their remaining enemies: Munakata (who desired Akiyama's stolen ¥100 billion for the police, and who had orchestrated the whole gang war), Arai (who had been working with Munakata the whole time, engineering the war in order to rise to lead the Tojo), Kido (who had double-crossed Akiyama and betrayed his money stash to Daigo Dojima), and Daigo (who had betrayed Goro Majima to Katsuragi and attempted to use Akiyama's stolen money to rebuild his clan). Akiyama proposed that they set a trap for their enemies by announcing that his ¥100 billion would be left on top of the Millennium Tower. Sure enough, Daigo and Kido were the first to arrive, while Arai also arrived to confront Daigo and Munakata and a police team showed up to execute the three men.

However, Akiyama, Tanimura, Saejima, and Kiryu arrived in their own helicopter, interrupting the standoff between their enemies and blowing the pyramid of Akiyama's money away. Akiyama then suggested that each man pick their "a** to kick"; while Kiryu chose his protege Daigo, Saejima chose the traitor Kido, and Tanimura chose the corrupt Munakata, Akiyama chose to face off against his former friend Arai. In the ensuing fight, Akiyama bested his opponent, while his friends did so as well. Before they could celebrate, however, Munakata shot Akiyama in the chest with his handgun. Akiyama was surprised to find that a wad of cash in his coat pocket had stopped the bullet, and Arai, accepting his defeat, told Munakata that they would be going to prison together now that their crimes were known to the public. Munakata was sure that he would evade prison until the policeman-turned-journalist Makoto Date arrived in a helicopter, scattering newspapers revealing Munakata's corruption and causing them to rain down on Kabukicho. Confronted with life in prison, Munakata shot himself.

With the Ueno Seiwa and Shibata Family destroyed, Akiyama returned to his business, confident that he could make his money back. He soon fell back into his slovenly ways, letting his office become cluttered and messy. He was soon surprised to see a skinny Hana enter his office, desperate to return to work after having trouble eating for days. The two nearly kissed before Akiyama remembered that he had saved bento boxes for Hana in her absence, causing her to grow angry that Akiyama had not given her new look enough attention, but accepting the food and returning to Akiyama's office as his secretary.

Expansion into Osaka[]

By 2012, Akiyama's business in Tokyo had recovered so greatly that he was able to establish an Osaka branch of Sky Finance in Dotonbori. There, he gave a ¥300 million loan to Dyna Chair entertainment company president Mirei Park after she performed hard work to earn his trust; she intended to use the money to help boost her protege Haruka Sawamura's career and give her a debut concert at the Tokyo Bowl, where Park herself had once dreamed of performing.

Hakamada and his men threatening Akiyama

In December 2012, Omi Alliance yakuza Takeshi Hakamada and a group of gangsters came to the Sky Finance office to demand a loan of ¥1 trillion. Akiyama refused to help the thugs, leading to Hakamada punching a hole in one of Akiyama's storage boxes. This got Akiyama in a fighting mood, and he proceeded to beat up all the yakuza and force them to flee. Just afterwards, however, a distraught Hana called him and informed him that Park had apparently committed suicide.

Akiyama immediately headed to Dyna Chair to pay his condolences to manager Hiroshi Horie and investigate Park's sudden death. Horie told Akiyama that the detective had said that suicides were lately on the rise among executives of smaller companies, and he related that Park's suicide note merely read "I'm tired. I'm sorry." However, both men were suspicious of Park's sudden death because the money Akiyama had loaned Park wasn't in the office safe, nor was the account book. Akiyama also met with Haruka, whom he was surprised to see was Park's mentee. The two both doubted that Park's death was a suicide, and they decided to team up to investigate. They quickly deduced that nobody desiring a certain death would jump from so low-down a roof unless they were sure to hit the ground head-first. On heading downstairs to tell Horie about the their findings, Akiyama also revealed the purpose of Park's loan, saying that Park was confident that Haruka would win the Princess League, and encouraging Haruka to keep Park's dreams alive so that all of her work would not have been in vain. While Akiyama attempted to persuade Haruka to focus her efforts on the Princess League rather than the investigation, she vowed to do both, as she wanted to solve Park's death and fulfill her dream. Haruka then realized that Park had injured her right hand during an earlier argument with Kan Ogita, and Akiyama decided that they should wait to see if the police's analysis of her suicide note matched her left hand's writing.

That night, Akiyama returned to the Dyna Chair office and found Park's ledger in her safe after Haruka used Park's fountain pen to open it. They discovered a list of instructions from Park, and, when comparing that list to the suicide note, they found that the writing did not match, and that the note was written in the fashion of her right hand. The two then concluded that Park was murdered. Just then, they heard a body fall on the pavement in the alley, and, on reaching the roof, they found that Horie had been pushed.

Akiyama pursued the perpetrator and found him to be none other than Ogita, who drew a knife on Akiyama after his pleas of innocence were ignored. Akiyama beat Ogita down and rushed over to Horie, cradling him in his arms and preparing to call the police for Ogita's arrest. Just then, the muscular Kamon Kanai arrived and aimed a gun at Akiyama, forcing him to hang up. Ogita escaped while Akiyama fought Kanai to a standstill, and, as Kanai left, Akiyama and Haruka ensured that Horie was taken to a hospital to recover.

Akiyama and Haruka then met with a detective who told them that they were searching for Ogita as a material witness for the assault and attempted murder of Horie; however, the police had already ruled Park's death a suicide, and the discrepancy in her handwriting was not enough to convict Ogita of her murder. Akiyama then realized that a forger may have been involved, so he contacted Hana and had her find a Kabukicho forger. In the meantime, he analyzed Park's account fook and found that the money had already been spent, as Park reserved the Japan Dome for Haruka's debut concert. Haruka's dance instructor Christina agreed to help prepare Haruka for her big debut, while her vocal coach Misa Yamaura reluctantly agreed to assume the role of manager while Horie was in the hospital. After Akiyama left the meeting, Yamaura took him aside and warned him that Haruka had a stalker, and she persuaded him to check in on Haruka's apartment every so often to ensure that she remained safe.

Eventually, Akiyama talked with his Kabukicho forger, who told him that he could find a Dotonbori forger at Crest Bar; Akiyama promised to pay him for his information. When Akiyama headed to Crest Bar and asked about a forged suicide note, however, the bartender denied any knowledge of a forgery operation. Akiyama then walked out onto the street, where he met the celebrity chef Tatsuya Kawagoe. After that conversation, Akiyama was called by the bartender, who told him to meet him at the Soemoncho parking lot. There, the bartender confronted Akiyama and asked him who or what he was trying to sniff out. In order to test Akiyama, they attempted to attack him, only for Akiyama to beat them down. The bartender then revealed that he had merely introduced a forger to a man who he said he wanted a suicide note forged. Akiyama found out that the "Dotonbori Forger" was the bartender's father, and that he lived in the upstairs apartment.

Akiyama then called Haruka and had her come to the bar, where they entered the forger's apartment, and Haruka recognized him as a fan she had met at a handshake event. He revealed that he had forged Park's suicide note, although he never asked customers their names. He identified the man as a muscular yakuza who had been driving another yakuza around, and he said that the man wanted him to forge the note and make it look like the handwriting in Park's notebook. The Forger also said that the man in the car was Naoki Katsuya, the president of Osaka Talent, Dyna Chair's rivals. Before Akiyama and Haruka continued their investigation, the Forger expressed his admiration for Mirei Park when he was younger, and he commended Park and Haruka for being rare examples of genuine people who just wanted to be themselves and live earnestly.

In order to lighten the mood, Akiyama treated Haruka to as much crab as she could eat from the famous Kani Doraku seafood restaurant. The next day, Akiyama met with Katsuya at the Osaka Talent offices, and they made small talk about Katsuya's action movie career before Akiyama broached the subject of Park's suicide and asked Katsuya if he had any role in it. Katsuya said that he would rather not entertain the "sick joke" that Akiyama proposed, but he suggested that one of his countless clients may have had something to do with Park's death. He then offered a check to Akiyama, which Akiyama interpreted as a bribe and admission of Katsuya's involvement. However, Katsuya instead said that he wanted to stamp out the spark of a rumor before it caught and caused his business to suffer. Akiyama told Katsuya that he was a far better actor than he gave himself credit for, and he refused to accept Katsuya's money. As he left the meeting, Akiyama was called by a mystery caller and asked to come back to Sky Finance.

There, Akiyama met Detective Serizawa of the Osaka police. Serizawa identified Ogita as Park's killer and Horie's assailant, but he suggested that Ousaka Enterprises, an Omi Alliance front company, was the one pulling the strings on the operation. Its executive director Kamon Kanai had been running around doing their dirty work, and he was the one who used the forger to fabricate Park's suicide note. After Serizawa left, Hakamada and his Omi thugs walked in to demand protection money. Akiyama then realized that they might know about Ousaka Enterprises, and, after beating them up, he forced Hakamada to reveal that Ousaka Enterprises was based from a junkyard on the outskirts of town.

Akiyama proceeded to take a taxi to the junkyard, opening the gate and wandering inside. He was confronted by Masatoshi Morofuji and Haruo Fujikawa, and, when he asked them about Kanai, the yakuza figured that only two groups of people knew that Kanai was their executive director: Ousaka Enterprises employees and the prefectural police organized crime division. They then asked if Akiyama knew what he was getting into, and he joked, "Well, if I had to guess, I'd say it's an industrial waste disposal facility, for the real nasty stuff that's left untreated." When the Omi men attacked him, Akiyama took them down, and he fought his way through dozens of Ousaka Enterprises henchmen before finding Ogita laying wounded and armless near a furnace. Ogita revealed that Kanai had tortured him, and also confessed to killing Park over work-related matters and a debt owed to Ousaka Enterprises; Kanai threw Horie from the roof when he was unable to tell them where her letter to Goro Majima was. When Ogita claimed to be a victim, Akiyama was disgusted on Park's behalf, and he told Ogita that help for him would have to wait until he knocked Kanai's teeth in.

Akiyama standing over the defeated Ousaka Enterprises goons

Akiyama then fought his way into the main recycling facility, where Kanai and a dozen Ousaka Enterprises henchmen ambushed him and finished off a recaptured Ogita. Akiyama was able to best the Omi hitmen despite the odds, only for Yamaura to give Akiyama an urgent call and reveal that Haruka had been kidnapped by yakuza.

Akiyama promptly returned to Dyna Chair, where Akiyama revealed that Ousaka Enterprises was responsible for Park's death, Horie's injury, and Haruka's kidnapping, and that they were after a letter Park received from her ex-husband. Just then, Katsuya returned Haruka to Dyna Chair, assuring her friends that she was not hurt. He then apologized for any harm that came in Haruka's way, and he revealed himself to be Omi's Chief of HQ and chairman of Ousaka Enterprises; he revealed that he had only recently heard of Kanai's horrific actions and said that finding Park's letter - the only means of tracking down her former husband - was Kanai's sole objective. He then revealed Goro Majima as Park's ex-husband, and said that he had reportedly passed away in Sapporo just the other day. While leaving, Katsuya said that Park's death had been a point of great pain to him.

After Haruka awoke, she was called by Katsuya, who asked her to give him the letter to Majima, lest something befall the Morning Glory Orphanage; she was ultimately persuaded to meet Katsuya at Platform 23 of Shin-Osaka Station. Christina later checked on Haruka's room and found her leaving, mentioning Shin-Osaka Station; he later told Akiyama of this, and Akiyama, worried about her, decided to tail her there. He talked with a cab driver who had just driven Haruka to the station, and who was a big fan of hers; he commended Akiyama for their shared fandom as they drove. Akiyama ran up the stairs just in time to interrupt Kamon Kanai as he, and not Katsuya, met with Haruka.

Catching his breath from the stairs, Akiyama proceeded to single-handely take down the Ousaka Enterprises henchmen and rescue Haruka. He then told Haruka that she had to go to Tokyo and make her concert a success, while warning her that, if she stayed in Osaka, the Omi would not likely be letting up any time soon. Akiyama figured that Haruka would be safer in Tokyo, where the Tojo-kai could keep the Omi in check, and he agreed to escort Haruka to Tokyo to meet with Goro Majima, predicting that, if they took the Shinkansen bullet train to Tokyo, the Omi might be waiting for them when they arrived.

Confrontation in Tokyo[]

Akiyama then headed to Tokyo, where he met with Katsuya. Katsuya offered Akiyama a major bribe to cancel Haruka's Tokyo Dome concert, even while knowing that it would ruin her reputation in the industry. Katsuya refused to reveal his motives for wanting the concert cancelled, and Akiyama rejected Katsuya's offer. Akiyama suggested that, while Kanai and his men were vile, he detected genuine sadness in Katsuya over Park's death, and he said that it was Park's dream for Haruka to perform at the Dome. Akiyama then walked out on the deal, and he decided to return to Sky Finance.

On returning to his office, he found that Hana was out, but, before he could nap on his couch, he was awoken by Tatsuo Shinada, who was looking to borrow some money. Akiyama, pretending to be a mere employee, offered to relay Shinada's message, so Shinada requested 320 million yen. Akiyama was aghast, but Shinada explained that, if he didn't scrape up 300 million that day, a lot of lives would be in danger. Akiyama asked what Shinada meant, and Shinada revealed that the debut of a major singer at the Japan Dome the day after next would likely be attacked, and 300 million of the yen were to go towards cancelling the concert. Shinada then explained his backstory, including how the Kuroha-gumi used the Nagoya-gumi to rig games with the Wyverns and the Gigants, and realized that both of them knew Daigo Dojima. Shinada then relayed that Sawada had told him that the Kuroha were going to pull something at the concert. Akiyama found it ironic that, while Katsuya of Ousaka Enterprises was trying to shut the concert down, another Omi family was planning to do something, meaning that there was a leadership struggle in the Omi. Akiyama suspected that Katsuya wanted to stop "Kuroha" from consolidating power before the chairman died so that he himself could take over. Shinada then explained that the remaining 20 million yen would repay Daigo for money that he felt wasn't his. Akiyama then revealed that the girl doing he concert, Haruka, was under his care, and he insisted that she continue with her performance, as she wanted to live out her dream. The two men agreed on the need to eliminate any threat to the concert before it could be put on, and Akiyama decided that they needed to track down Katsuya's company, MAO, Inc., in order to find him.

Akiyama decided that they should find out MAO, Inc.'s location from the homeless, sharing his own backstory of homelessness with Shinada. Akiyama purchased 10,000 yen worth of liquor from an M Store before meeting Norikazu Kamisaka in the Hotel District. He bribed Kamisaka to tell him the location of MAO, Inc., which was located next to the Men's Entertainment Box (MEB) info booth on Shichifuku Street. When the two men arrived at the building, they were confronted by several yakuza who denied them entry, but they bested them in a fight before heading in.

The two men found the MAO, Inc. president Toshihiro Tsukatani preparing to make a run for it with the contents of the office safe. A startled Tsukatani revealed that Katsuya had told him that a moneylender like Akiyama wouldshow up, and he was supposed to give Akiyama the brush-off. When Akiyama asked how Katsuya knew he would come, the president did not know, but he was told that Akiyama would come wanting to know about the concert happening in two days. Shinada then asked it Tsukatani was planning on stealing the 300 million that Park had given him, but he revealed that he was planning on returning it to Osaka. Akiyama doubted that Tsukatani wanted to visit Park even though he broke his contract with her and tried to switch to Katsuya, but Tsukatani revealed that the transfer had previously been cleared by Park, and that Park and Katsuya had been friends for years. Tsukatani revealed that he used to be Katsuya's manager, and that he knew both Park and Katsuya since they were struggling artists. He then showed Akiyama a photo of Katsuya, Park, and Majima from 1992 to prove their friendship, and he also revealed that Park had helped Katsuya get a job after a stunt injury ended his acting career. Akiyama was confused, asking if they weren't rivals, and Tsukatani said that their "rivalry" was fake, and had been intended to generate buzz and publicity. Additionally, Park had schemed so that T-Set would transfer to Osaka Talent so that they could grapple with the rest of Dyna Chair's up-and-comers. Tsukatani then revealed that Goro Majima often met with Katsuya whenever they were both in Tokyo, and Akiyama concluded that Katsuya must have had some other reason for canceling the concert. Tsukatani revealed that Katsuya only wanted it pushed back a day, as he needed to work out the choreography for a new song. Akiyama decided to head to New Serena, where he figured he could meet up with Kiryu and Saejima, who had also been drawn into Tokyo as part of the plot.

Akiyama arrived at New Serena while Kiryu and Saejima met with Makoto Date, and Saejima was surprised to see that Akiyama had gotten himself involved in the intrigue as well. Akiyama said that the drama had started in Fukuoka before spreading to Sapporo, Osaka, Nagoya, and now Tokyo, with the Tojo Clan at the root of it all. He then stated that Kurosawa was the mastermind, and Daigo, Katsuya, and Majima had been the three men to figure out his plan. He then showed the others the photo of Majima, Park, and Katsuya from the 1990s, revealing that they risked their lives to find the evidence of Kurosawa's plot. The trio wanted to protect each other, and the photo was the proof.

While Kiryu continued to mope at the bar, Saejima caught Akiyama up on the events atop the Kabukicho Hills complex, revealing that Kurosawa had triggered the plot to get rid of Kiryu and the rest of the Tojo's top brass, as well as Watase and Katsuya on his own side. Kurosawa anticipated the Tojo going to Fukuoka, Sapporo, and Nagoya and arranged to have their top men killed, but he never planned for the events in Osaka, which were triggered by the discovery of a letter from Majima to Park revealing his current location. The postmark also showed that the letter was sent after Majima was supposedly killed in Sapporo, so the Omi thought that getting a hold of the letter would help pin down his location. While Katsuya sought to acquire the letter peacefully so that he could keep Majima safe, Kanai's search for the letter on Kurosawa's behalf led to the murder of Park and the letter being passed down to Haruka. Akiyama then concluded that Majima was likely already dead by the time Park received the letter, as he would likely have been lured into action the night before. Akiyama then concluded that Park and Katsuya had leaked the letter's existence to set a trap and sniff out who was behind the murders in Nagoya and Fukuoka, realizing that Kanai was that traitor. When Date and Saejima were confused as to why Park would endanger herself, Akiyama suggested that she did it to protect Majima, on whom she had kept tabs through Katsuya due to their enduring love.

Akiyama then revealed that there was some serious trouble brewing, as Katsuya had just pulled some strings to change the date of Haruka's concert due to Kurosawa's plan to target her original concert. Saejima mentioned that Kurosawa had warned Kiryu about Haruka, and Akiyama said that, while Katsuya intended to end things with Kurosawa the night before, Kurosawa had escaped and Katsuya was in no condition to cancel the concert. Akiyama then decided that the group had to stop Kurosawa's men from getting into the concert, but Date said that there was no way that they could weed out all his men. They decided to cancel the concert by any means, but Kiryu then came to his senses and said that they could not cancel it, as, even if Haruka heard what was going on, she'd still choose to be on that stage and live out her dream. Kiryu then said that he would be the only one capable of having her pull out, but, when Saejima mentioned the threats to Haruka's safety, Kiryu went to the roof to mull over his decision. Saejima followed him upstairs and persuaded him to count on the help of friends, and Kiryu agreed to join them in putting an end to the conspiracy.

Kiryu then stumbled across the group - joined by Shinada - reading a layout of the Japan Dome that Akiyama had brought with him. Akiyama said that, while picking up the blueprints from Haruka's trainers, Haruka had told him that Kiryu had sent a messenger to encourage Haruka to never give up. Kiryu confirmed that he had encouraged Haruka, and he then asked who Shinada was. Akiyama humorously said, "This is a friend of Daigo-san. He was a pro ball player, but he got banned. Then he tried to borrow 320 mil from me 'cause he's just a nightlife writer in Nagoya."

Shinada, analyzing the map, then explained that a creep using a sniper rifle could only shoot Haruka from the outfield stands, next to the batter's eye screen, as there would be too many people in the way from any other vantage point. He also shared that the home team often posted "spies" there to engage in sign-stealing, as they could see the opposing catcher's hand signals through binoculars from there. Akiyama then asked Shinada if it was true that he had engaged in sign-stealing, but Shinada said that nobody was in the center field stands on the day of his ban, and that he doubted that, if he had been told the Gigants' sign, he could have ever hit the fastball. When Akiyama asked why Shinada hadn't used that proof to overturn his ban, Shinada said that he did not want to ruin the fans' dreams, as he didn't want them to know how corrupt the sport was. He then said that the people watching Haruka on her stage were going to be inspired to chase their own dreams, and he said that it was his responsibility to keep Dojima's dream alive, just like how Dojima had put his life on the line to do so.

The four men discovering the Majima sigil on the dead hitman

Akiyama then told his friends that Mama had agreed to let them use New Serena as their base, arranging blankets on the sofas so that the men could rest until the next evening. That evening, the Mama rushed into New Serena and told the friends to turn on the television. They then saw a news report saying that, just after 5 PM, the Millennium Tower had been seized by an unidentified group, and Goro Majima was being held hostage. The four men rushed to the tower to rescue Majima, only to see two cars crash through a crowd of civilians. Four hitmen stepped out and sprayed the crowd and police with fire, forcing the four friends to take cover. As the hitmen reloaded, Kiryu and Akiyama sprung into action and helped the hitmen shoot each other dead. Saejima then noticed that the men were wearing Majima sigils, and Akiyama realized that taking out Kiryu and Saejima was not the hitmen's only goal; they also wanted to make it look like the Majima Family had resorted to violence to rescue their captive boss, thus helping them drive the Majima Family and the whole Tojo Clan out of town.

Shortly after, the four men found themselves surrounded on all sides by scores of Kuroha-gumi henchmen led by Kanai. Shinada decided that he would rescue Haruka at the stadium, as Kiryu stuck out like a sore thumb. Saejima volunteered to rescue Majima, while Kiryu and Akiyama would hold off the invaders. Kiryu and Akiyama proceeded to battle the yakuza, allowing Shinada and Saejima to break through their encirclement and flee into the sewers, from which they could reach their targets.

Akiyama and Kiryu proceeded to take on hundreds of Kuroha-gumi yakuza, with the local news filming them in fierce combat. Not long after, Kiryu received a call from Daigo warning him that it was never Kurosawa's goal to kill the leaders of the Tojo or take over Kabukicho. When Kiryu asked how Daigo was awake, and to whom Kurosawa intended to hand over the Tojo, Daigo told Kiryu that he had to get to Tojo Clan headquarters as soon as possible. Akiyama volunteered to stay behind and fight off the Kuroha, saying that Kabukicho was his town, and he wanted to make the Kuroha pay for what they had done to it.

Kanai himself then arrived to have a rematch with Akiyama, and Akiyama was able to take down his guards and fight Kanai to a draw. Kanai then mocked Akiyama, saying that he could continue throwing men at him, and large crowds began to arrive. However, Kanai was surprised to see that they were from the Yamagasa-gumi of Fukuoka, the Kitakata-gumi of Sapporo, and the Watase-gumi of Osaka, all of whom had been summoned by Daigo to avenge their entanglement in Kurosawa's plot. Masaru Watase then told the frightened Kanai that he was on the "sh** list of every yakuza in the g*ddamn country," forcing Kanai to bow in surrender. Watase then approached Akiyama and told him that, while the Omi Alliance had bowed to no one before, he and the rest of the yakuza bowed in deference to Akiyama before he asked him how it felt to be the only lender to stand above the yakuza. Akiyama awkardly joked that he had had better days, and he then said that all that was left was to see how Kiryu wrapped things up. Not long after, a telescreen broadcasting Dream Line's concert showed Haruka give a surprise speech announcing her retirement from the idol industry due to her refusal to turn her back on her family, and she revealed that she had been raised by the yakuza Kazuma Kiryu, whom she called family.

Life in hiding[]

After Kiryu was hospitalized from his fight with Masato Aizawa, Akiyama visited him and Haruka in the hospital, where he warned Haruka that she might never be able to live a private life because of her announcement. He also expressed concern about Kiryu's indecision over whether or not to hire a lawyer to contest the charges against him, which would land him a three-year prison sentence. By 2015, Kiryu was in prison, Haruka had vanished from Okinawa, and the 2015 Little Asia fire led to the Saio Triad moving into Kabukicho and declaring war on the Tojo. Because of Akiyama's association with Daigo, and because his interest-free loans undercut the Saio's loansharking, he was forced to close down Sky Finance and Elise while sending Hana back to her parents in the countryside until the conflict died down. Disguising himself as a homeless man, Akiyama hid out in the Kabukicho sewers.

In December 2016, Kiryu found Akiyama in the sewers while searching for information on Haruka, and he saved him from the Saio officer Ed Zhang. However, he was unable to share any knowledge about Haruka before Date called Kiryu and informed him that Haruka had been in a car accident and was in the hospital. Akiyama frequently visited Haruka, but he refused to let Kiryu take Haruka's infant boy Haruto Sawamura with him as he searched for his father, warning that Kiryu might be sent back to prison for kidnapping. Kiryu was forced to fight and defeat Akiyama in the children's ward to convince him of his determination, and Akiyama reluctantly let Kiryu leave Kabukicho with Haruto.

When Kiryu returned to Kabukicho with a desire to infiltrate Little Asia and question the Saio Triad over their murder of Shu Tatsukawa, Akiyama agreed to help Kiryu and his Hirose-gumi friends while warning Kiryu that the Tojo were after him, as Jinsei-gumi member Takaaki Murota had related to him. Akiyama then helped Kiryu sneak into the Saio headquarters, where they were caught and forced to face Big Lo, who spared them after deciding to meet Kiryu the next evening to discuss an alliance.

Much later, Akiyama visited a recovered Haruka at the hospital, and he advised Kiryu to move Haruka to protect her. He also volunteered to help Kiryu save Kabukicho by confronting Katsumi Sugai at the Millennium Tower, although Kiryu ultimately had him look after the wounded Yuta Usami before the gang could reach Sugai's office. After Kiryu returned, Akiyama guessed that Kiryu had planned to kill Sugai and Tsuneo Iwami out of revenge, and he offered to kill in Kiryu's place to not taint his legacy.

One month later, after hearing that Kiryu had died in Onomichi, Akiyama confronted Date at Serena and informed him that Sky Finance was reopening, while also demanding to know the truth about Kiryu, as no body had been recovered. Akiyama refused to believe Date's excuse that Kiryu had been cremated due to his lack of living relatives, and, over the years, Akiyama grew disillusioned with Date and only kept in touch with Haruka. He went on to travel around the world to move and manage his money, keeping it safe from Ryo Aoki's Kabukicho 3K Plan crackdown. He later returned to Japan after hearing that Kiryu had resurfaced to oversee the joint dissolution of the Tojo and Omi, but he failed to follow up on that information. In 2023, Akiyama finally tracked Kiryu down to the Harbor Light bar in Isezakicho, Yokohama, where he punched both men for their betrayal. Akiyama expressed his disappointment that Kiryu had not kept in touch with him over the years, but he attempted to convince Kiryu to seek treatment for his cancer.