In Japan, the number-two crime boss in the country's biggest yakuza group was arrested today for alleged extortion as police intensified a crackdown on organised crime. According to police and media reports, some 140 police officers took part in the arrest of Kiyoshi Takayama of the Yamaguchi-gumi, in a pre-dawn raid on his residence in Kobe in western Japan. Police suspect Takayama jointly extorted 480,000 dollars in protection money with other Yamaguchi-gumi members between 2005 and 2006 from a 65-year-old man engaged in the construction business. The arrest came as police have stepped up measures since September last year to crack down on underground syndicates, mainly the Yamaguchi-gumi, which controls half of the nation's gangsters.