Japanese Red Army Explained

Japanese Red Army
Native Name:日本赤軍
Native Name Lang:ja
Dates:1971–2001
Motives:Proletarian revolution in Japan, World revolution
Area:Japan, Middle East, Europe, South Asia, Southeast Asia
Position:Far-left
Attacks:Lod Airport massacre
Japan Airlines Flight 404
Japan Airlines Flight 472
Malaysian Airline System Flight 653 (suspected)
Status:Defunct; succeeded by the Rentai movement
Preceded By:Sekigunha

The was a militant communist organization active from 1971 to 2001. It was designated a terrorist organization by Japan and the United States. The JRA was founded by Fusako Shigenobu and Tsuyoshi Okudaira in February 1971, and was most active in the 1970s and 1980s, operating mostly out of Lebanon with PFLP collaboration and funding from Muammar Gaddafi's Libya, as well as Syria and North Korea.

After the Lod Airport massacre, it sometimes called itself the Arab-JRA.[1] The group was also variously known as the Anti-Imperialist International Brigade (AIIB), the Holy War Brigade, and the Anti-War Democratic Front. The JRA's stated goals were to overthrow the Japanese government and the monarchy, as well as to start a world revolution.[2]

History

Fusako Shigenobu had been a leading member in the in Japan, whose roots lay in the Communist League, part of the militant New Left in Japan. Advocating revolution through terrorism,[3] they set up their own group, declaring war on the state in September 1969. The police quickly arrested many of them, including founder and intellectual leader Takaya Shiomi, who was in jail by 1970. The Red Army Faction lost about 200 members, and the remnants merged with the Maoist group Revolutionary Left Faction to form the in July 1971. The United Red Army became notable during the Asama-Sanso incident, when it murdered fourteen of its members on Mount Haruna, before a week-long siege involving hundreds of police leaving a bystander and a police officer dead.[4]

Fusako Shigenobu had left Japan with only a handful of dedicated people, but her group is said to have had about 40 members at its height and was, after the Lod Airport massacre, one of the best-known armed leftist groups in the world.[5]

The JRA had close ties with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Wadie Haddad. It was dependent on the PFLP for financing, training, and weaponry.

In April 2001, Shigenobu issued a statement from detention declaring the JRA had disbanded, and that their battles should henceforth be done by legal means.[6]

The National Police Agency publicly stated that a successor group was founded in 2001, called .[7]

On February 15, 2022, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department renewed calls for arresting other ex-JRA terrorists who have not been arrested, including Kunio Bando and Kozo Okamoto.[8]

Activities

During the 1970s and 1980s, JRA carried out a series of attacks in Japan and around the world, including:

Known members

Films

One of the people showing the film around Japan with the producer was Mieko Toyama, a close friend of Fusako Shigenobu. She was murdered in the winter training camp massacre.

See also

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Japanese Red Army (JRA) | Terrorist Groups | TRAC.
  2. Web site: Japanese Red Army (JRA) Anti-Imperialist International Brigade (AIIB) . Intelligence Resource Program . Federation of American Scientists . 1 October 2023.
  3. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10576109008435816 Terrorist profile group – the Japanese red army
  4. Carpentras. Fabien. IAFOR Journal of Media, Communication & Film – Memory Politics and Popular Culture – The Example of the United Red Army in the Manga Red (2006–2018). IAFOR Journal of Media, Communication & Film. The International Academic Forum (IAFOR). 86. 10.22492/ijmcf. 2187-0667. free.
  5. http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=59 Japanese Red Army (JRA) Profile
  6. News: Shigenobu declares end of Japanese Red Army. The Japan Times Online. April 16, 2001.
  7. Web site: Movements of the Japanese Red Army and the "Yodo-go" Group. September 7, 2011. Japanese National Police Agency.
  8. News: Japan's police renew hunt for Red Army militants wanted since 1970s. Mainichi Daily News. February 15, 2022.
  9. "In what became known as the Lod Airport Massacre three members of the terrorist group, Japanese Red Army, arrived at the airport aboard Air France Flight 132 from Rome. Once inside the airport they grabbed automatic firearms from their carry-on cases and fired at airport staff and visitors. In the end, 26 people died and 80 people were injured." CBC News, The Fifth Estate, "Fasten Your Seatbelts: Ben Gurion Airport in Israel", 2007. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
  10. Book: Axell . Albert . Japan's Suicide Gods . 2002 . Pearson Education . London . x . 9780582772328 .
  11. Blood and Rage, The Story of the Japanese Red Army.
  12. Web site: CNN – Ethiopia mourns crash victims – Nov. 25, 1996. CNN. https://web.archive.org/web/20041223015303/http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9611/25/comoros.crash/index.html. December 23, 2004. January 21, 2017.
  13. News: Red Army's reign of terror. November 8, 2000. October 26, 2017. news.bbc.co.uk.
  14. Web site: $10 million paid to free Mitsui exec: Communists . https://web.archive.org/web/20211203013726/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2003/01/28/national/10-million-paid-to-free-mitsui-exec-communists/ . December 3, 2021 . January 28, 2003 .
  15. Web site: A Japanese executive kidnapped more than four months ago... – UPI Archives .
  16. News: Suro. Roberto. Times. Special To the New York. 15 April 1988. 5 Die in Blast Outside U.S.O. in Naples. en-US. The New York Times. 30 December 2021. 0362-4331.
  17. Web site: Japanese Red Army (JRA) Anti-Imperialist International Brigade (AIIB).
  18. Web site: Refworld | Country Reports on Terrorism 2007 – Japan.
  19. Web site: Japanese Red Army Founder Gets 20 Years. Associated Press.
  20. [Kyodo News]
  21. Web site: agencies. Guardian staff and. March 18, 2000. Red Army members expelled by Lebanon. May 18, 2021. the Guardian. en.
  22. Web site: Red Army members expelled by Lebanon. TheGuardian.com. March 18, 2000.
  23. https://web.archive.org/web/20071015173302/http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/408541 Man linked to Red Army Faction arrested upon return from Pyongyang.
  24. Web site: Wanted radical Kunio Bando was in Philippines in 2000: sources.. May 23, 2015.
  25. Web site: Death row inmate apologizes to victims of 1974 bombing.. May 23, 2015.
  26. "Yu Kikumura ." Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved on January 6, 2010.
  27. Web site: Naharnet — Lebanon's leading news destination. Naharnet. May 23, 2015.
  28. News: Red Army's reign of terror. May 30, 2017. BBC News. November 8, 2000.
  29. Web site: Alleged terrorist deported, tied to Olympic plot. February 19, 2012.
  30. Terrorism and guerrilla warfare: forecasts and remedies, page 171.
  31. Web site: Japanese Red Army member pleads not guilty over 1986 embassy attack in Jakarta. www.scmp.com. September 21, 2016. October 9, 2020.
  32. Web site: Serangkaian Teror Bom Dulu dan Sekarang di Tanah Air. theglobal-review.com. October 9, 2020. id.
  33. Web site: Japanese Red Army member gets 12-year sentence over '86 Jakarta attack. japantimes.co.jp. November 24, 2016. October 9, 2020.
  34. News: Ex-Red Army Member Sentenced for Hijacking. Los Angeles Times. May 30, 2017. February 14, 2002. Reports. From Times Wire.
  35. News: Obituary: Yoshimi Tanaka. Japan Times. May 30, 2017. The Japan Times Online. January 3, 2007.
  36. Web site: PERU: SUSPECTED JAPANESE RED ARMY TERRORIST TO BE DEPORTED – AP Archive. www.aparchive.com. October 26, 2017.
  37. News: Peru to Send Red Army Guerrilla Suspect to Japan. June 6, 1996. October 26, 2017. The New York Times.
  38. Web site: CARETAS HOME PAGE. www2.caretas.pe. October 26, 2017. October 12, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171012090559/http://www2.caretas.pe/2000/1618/articulos/terruca.phtml. dead.