Concerns about a turf war in Kobe prompts police to seek legislation to halt traditional handout

Police in Japan are planning to deprive children of their trick-or-treat goodies this Halloween – but only because the gifts come from members of the country’s biggest underworld organisation.

Yamaguchi-gumi gang members, based in the western port city of Kobe, have been distributing sweets to local children at Halloween most years since 2013.

Related: Going straight: the yakuza gangster who swapped the underworld for udon