Masaaki Osaka
Masaaki Osaka (大坂 正明, Ōsaka Masaaki, born c. 1950) is a Japanese Trotskyist and former senior member of the Revolutionary Communist League, National Committee. In June 2017, he was arrested for the murder of a policeman on 14 November 1971. His 46 years spent on the run is the longest in Japanese history.[1][2]
Biography[edit]
Osaka was a member of the Japan Revolutionary Communist League National Committee, called the Chūkaku-ha, or “middle core faction.”
He was put on the wanted list in 1972[2] after being charged with murder, assault and other offenses.
1971 Shibuya riot[edit]
According to police, on November 14, 1971, during a demonstration by students and other activists protesting the ratification of a Japan-U.S. treaty on the reversion of Okinawa, which degenerated into a riot, he attacked Tsuneo Nakamura, a 21-year old police officer, battering him with a steel pipe and setting him on fire with a petrol bomb. The officer died from his injuries.[2]
2017 arrest[edit]
In June 2017, Osaka was arrested for obstructing police who raided an apartment in Hiroshima used as a hideout of the Chukaku-ha while searching for a fellow activist. They charged him with obstruction before later discovering his identity through DNA testing. He was charged with murder. [3]
References[edit]
- ^ "Fugitive on the run for 45 years is caught". BBC News. 2017-06-07. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
- ^ a b c The Jiji Press, Ltd (June 8, 2017). "New Arrest Warrant Served on Ultraleftist for 1971 Murder (News)". Nippon Communications Foundation.
- ^ "Far-left activist charged with police slaying after 45 years as a fugitive". The Japan Times Online. 2017-06-07. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2019-01-04.