Shiro Akagi, suspect in Yodoho kidnapping incident, presumed dead in North Korea
Quick Look
- NHK and others reported that Shiro Akagi, one of the suspects in the Yodo-ho hijacking incident in which a Japanese communist radical group hijacked an airplane and went to North Korea in 1970, appears to have recently died at the age of 78 in North Korea.
- Japanese police are also confirming the facts.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The Yodoho kidnapping incident occurred on March 31, 1970, when nine members of the Red Army Faction, a Japanese communist extremist group, hijacked a Japan Airlines airliner taking off from Haneda Airport in Tokyo and flew to North Korea with 129 passengers and crew on board.
(Tokyo = Yonhap News) Correspondent Cho Seong-mi = NHK and other outlets reported on the 17th that one of the suspects in the 'Yodoho kidnapping incident', in which a Japanese communist extremist group hijacked an aircraft and flew it to North Korea, appears to have recently died in North Korea.
According to reports, information has been relayed to his family in Japan that Shiro Akagi, who was internationally wanted for his involvement in the Yodoho kidnapping incident that occurred in 1970, died at the age of 78 in Pyongyang on the 12th.
It has been reported that Japanese police authorities are also aware of this information and are verifying the truth.
The Yodoho kidnapping incident occurred on March 31, 1970, when nine members of the Red Army Faction, a Japanese communist extremist group, hijacked a Japan Airlines airliner (so-called Yodoho) that took off from Haneda Airport in Tokyo and was on its way to Fukuoka with 129 crew members and passengers on board, and flew over to North Korea.
The kidnappers freed all passengers at Fukuoka Airport and Gimpo Airport in Korea, but instead took Shinjiro Yamamura, then Vice Minister for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Transport, hostage and landed in North Korea on April 3 of the same year.
Vice Minister for Political Affairs Yamamura was detained by North Korean authorities and returned to Japan with the crew.
Takamaro Tamiya, the leader of the kidnapping organization, died while staying in North Korea seeking asylum, and some were arrested upon returning to Japan.
Some of the agents involved in the kidnapping were arrested while operating in Japan and Thailand and were tried in Japan.
Japanese public security authorities estimate that with Akagi's death, three gang members, their two wives, and their children are staying in North Korea.
The Yo Do-ho kidnapping incident was recently covered in Korea by the Netflix film 'Good News' and the Disney+ series 'Made in Korea'.
Open Questions
- What is the exact cause of Akagi Shiro's death?
- What is the current situation of the Red Army Faction members remaining in North Korea?
- How can Japanese authorities confirm the death?
