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A Former Japanese Yakuza -Mafia- to Present How He Transformed from a Feared Member of Japan's Underworld into a Highly Respected Pastor and Role Model

Business Wire, March 31, 2005

PHILADELPHIA -- A former member of Japanese Yakuza (organized crime groups), Hiroyuki Suzuki, will present the inspiring life story of how he transformed from a feared member of Japan's underworld into a highly respected pastor and role model, on Friday, April 15, from 6:35 p.m. to 8:05 p.m. at the University of Pennsylvania, Houston Hall Class of '49 Auditorium, Spruce Street between 34th and 36th Streets. The entire presentation will be translated into English and Korean.

From crime to correction, a biographical film based on Suzuki's personal tale, "Jesus is My Boss," will be shown before and after Suzuki's presentation. The first film showing will begin at 4:15 p.m. and the second showing at 8:15 p.m. The 128-minute film, which was first shown in Japan in 2001, has subtitles in English.

"I told of my life story so many times at so many places in and outside Japan. It seems that people who came to hear my story had believed that they could learn something from me, a bad gang with the carp tattoos all over the upper body and missing pinkie fingers who transformed into a Christian pastor after having gone through so many life-or-death moments. Nobody ever rejected me and my story," Suzuki says in the book, "How To Start Over From Living Below the Breadline: A Memoir by the Tattooed Pastor," which he authored in 2002.

The 49-year-old pastor was involved in hoodlumism for the better part of two decades. In 1989, a potentially fatal error led him to flee for his life from more than 5,000 Yakuza members, including his fellow brothers. He was in constant fear of being killed, and living as a fugitive completely wore him out. In the following year, he repented to God and joined a church in Tokyo. In 1992, in order to start over as an evangelist, Suzuki and a handful of peer Yakuza converts marched throughout Japan as well as South Korea and Hawaii, lugging a huge wooden cross, which generated extensive media coverage internationally. In 1998, Suzuki gained enough attention to earn a speaking engagement at the President's Prayer Breakfast at the White House, along with President Bill Clinton and the Rev. Billy Graham.

Suzuki's presentation and the film showings are the programs for the third annual Japanese Film Showcase & Presentation, sponsored by the Philadelphia Japanese Film Association (PJFA) and Omori & Yaguchi, a sole Japanese patent law firm in Greater Philadelphia. The event is also part of the 2005 Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia, an initiative to encourage a better understanding of the cultural customs of Japan organized by the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia.

In addition to the University of Pennsylvania, Suzuki will present his personal tale at other locations in New York, New Jersey and Washington D.C.

Admission for the Japanese Film Showcase and Presentation is $3 in advance and $4 at the door. Registration is required due to a limited number of seats. Those who are interested can call 215-701-6349 or visit http://www.omoriyaguchi.com/YakuzaInsideOut.htm to reserve advance tickets.

More information is available at http://www.omoriyaguchi.com/YakuzaInsideOut.htm.>