Ex-Red Army Faction member says airplane hijacking was 'selfish'+

TOKYO, March 31 Kyodo -
One of the former Red Army Faction members who hijacked a Japan Airlines
airplane and defected to North Korea in 1970 said Wednesday it was a ''selfish
and conceited'' act, as the day marked the 40th anniversary of Japan's first
hijacking.

''We did it in the belief that it was for a good cause and justice, but we were
too selfish and conceited,'' 63-year-old Moriaki Wakabayashi, one of the nine
men who hijacked the airplane in what is known in Japan as the Yodo-go
incident, said from North Korea during a telephone interview with Kyodo News.
''At the time, I thought it was a survival measure for the Red Army Faction and
there was no other choice, but it was too immature to use the passengers as a
shield,'' Wakabayashi said.
On March 31, 1970, the nine hijackers took hostage a total of 129 passengers
and crew aboard the plane heading from Tokyo to Fukuoka, forcing the pilot to
fly to Pyongyang where they were granted political asylum.
''Time has flown fast and I feel ashamed that I haven't done anything (even
though I'm older than 60),'' Wakabayashi said in reflecting on the past 40
years. ''Fellow members have died. I feel lonely but it cannot be helped.''
When asked about suspicions that the group was involved in the abductions of
three Japanese nationals from Europe to North Korea in the 1980s, Wakabayashi
denied involvement again and said, ''I want to do what I can to demonstrate my
innocence.''
Wakabayashi is hoping to return to Japan from North Korea together with three
other former Red Army Faction members and two wives of the members. He said he
is ready to face arrest and stand trial.
In 2008, North Korea expressed its readiness to cooperate with Japan in handing
over the Japanese radicals, but no progress has been made since.
Of the nine hijackers, two have been convicted after returning to Japan, while
three others, including leader Takamaro Tamiya, have died in North Korea.
==Kyodo
2010-03-31 23:25:27


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