Koreyoshi Kitamura is the NPA’s Deputy Director-General — the administrative and political bridge between the Task Force and the Japanese government. He never sets foot in the field, but his decisions about budget, staffing, and how long the agency can keep backing L shape the Task Force’s survival just as much as any battle does.
A heavy-set, balding middle-aged man with a thick dark mustache and rectangular spectacles, always in formal executive attire.
Pragmatic, irritable, and highly sensitive to political pressure — where Soichiro Yagami is driven by idealism, Kitamura is focused on government approval and the NPA’s public standing. He finds L’s total anonymity a serious liability, and often serves as the mouthpiece for his superiors’ growing frustration with the case.
In 2003, L identifies Kitamura as one of 141 NPA staff with case access, and his household ends up under FBI surveillance alongside the Yagamis’. As the Yotsuba investigation drags on without a breakthrough, Kitamura confronts Soichiro directly, revealing that Kira has started bribing politicians and demanding results before the Task Force’s independence becomes politically impossible to justify. After Director-General Takimura is kidnapped and killed, Kitamura becomes the Task Force’s top administrative contact, refusing outright to hand the Death Note to a criminal syndicate during the Sayu Yagami crisis. He survives the entire series, still in his post when Kira’s reign finally ends.
The NPA Administrative Schism (Ch. 39–40)
Kitamura confronts Soichiro over the Task Force’s lack of progress and its dependence on an anonymous L, citing political pressure and Kira’s bribery of officials. His pressure contributes to the tactical shift that eventually identifies the Yotsuba Kira.
Minor: Ch. 10, 24, 39, 40, 61, 72.
Mentioned only: Ch. 5, 22, 31, 62, 75, 108.3.
Soichiro Yagami
His direct subordinate. Kitamura respects his integrity but frequently acts as the enforcer of the government’s impatience with his team.
Kanichi Takimura
His superior, whom he serves under as second-in-command until Takimura is killed.
L
Someone Kitamura deeply distrusts, given L’s refusal to work through any normal chain of oversight.
“Are you going to make me say it…?” — Chapter 39, on the possible end of the Task Force
“Mr. Yagami… I understand the situation now… but you can’t just hand over the notebook to these criminals.” — Chapter 61
- His household is one of only two high-ranking police homes — the other being the Yagamis’ — that L bugs and monitors during the early investigation.
- His design stays visually unchanged across the story’s time skip, functioning as a stable anchor for the NPA’s administrative side.
🇯🇵 Japanese Voice Actors
Ikeda, Masaru
🇯🇵 Japanese
🇺🇸 English Voice Actors
Siegel, Howard
🇺🇸 English