Akira Nishikiyama

Akira Nishikiyama (Japanese: 錦山 彰, Hepburn: Nishikiyama Akira), often shortened to Nishiki, is a fictional character from Sega's action-adventure game series Like a Dragon, previously titled Yakuza outside of Japan. He is the sworn brother and childhood best friend of series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, who insists on taking the blame for Nishiki after he murdered their boss, which resulted in Kiryu's expulsion from the Tojo Clan, the dominant yakuza organization in Tokyo, and his imprisonment for ten years. Nishiki establishes the Nishikiyama Family as a "subsidiary" of the Tojo Clan, and later triggers an internal power struggle for the clan's leadership shortly after Kiryu's release, leading to the two men becoming mortal enemies. Nishiki also appears as a supporting character in the prequel installment, Yakuza 0, which follows Kiryu's early years as a low-ranking member of the Tojo Clan. For Yakuza Kiwami, the remake of the original Yakuza, Nishiki's role in the narrative is expanded, with his motivations being more clearly explained.

He is voiced by Kazuhiro Nakaya in Japanese, and by Michael Rosenbaum in the English version of the first game. The character of Nishiki is positively received, particularly for his expanded story arc in Kiwami and when it is contrasted with his depiction as a benevolent character in 0.