Approximately 20 minutes after takeoff, a young man named Takamaro Tamiya got up from his seat, drew a katana and shouted, “We are Ashita no Joe!”
He stated his intent to hijack the plane and instructed the other hijackers to draw their weapons. The hijackers then took 129 people (122 passengers and seven crew members) hostage and commanded the pilots to fly the plane to Havana, Cuba, where they intended to receive training by communist military groups.
The hijackers were then informed that the aircraft, a Boeing 727, was not capable of making such a journey, due to the plane’s inability to hold the necessary amount of fuel. Upon learning of this, the hijackers insisted that the plane be diverted to Pyongyang, North Korea, after stopping to refuel in Fukuoka.
The air traffic controllers, who were aware of the situation, intentionally gave the pilots incorrect directions in an effort to have them land at Gimpo Airport in Seoul, South Korea, where they had disguised the airport as being North Korean.
Despite this, the hijackers quickly realised that they had been tricked, and Japan’s Vice Minister for Transport, Shinjiro Yamamura, volunteered to take the place of the remaining hostages, and the hijackers accepted his offer.
They then proceeded to Pyongyang’s Mirim Airport, with Yamamura now as hostage, where they surrendered to North Korean authorities, who offered the whole group asylum.
5·22 days ago