On March 31, 1970, Japan Airlines Flight 351—also known as Yodo-go—was hijacked while en route from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to Fukuoka. The hijackers were members of the far-left militant group, the Japanese Red Army Faction.
The Yodo-go hijacking occurred during Japan’s turbulent 1970s, which were marked by widespread social unrest. The late 1960s saw an upsurge in radical leftist movements, largely driven by student activism. Frustrated with the existing political system, these groups sought to incite revolution through extreme measures.
The Japanese Red Army Faction aimed to overthrow the government and establish a communist state. As government crackdowns intensified, they devised a plan to set up an overseas base for training before returning to Japan to launch their revolution. Their chosen sanctuary was North Korea.
The hijackers initially demanded to be flown to Pyongyang. However, in a dramatic turn of events, the plane was directed to Gimpo International Airport in South Korea, not North Korea. Acting on intelligence from the Japanese government, South Korean authorities successfully tricked the hijackers by having Gimpo’s air traffic controllers pose as their Pyongyang counterparts.
Upon realizing the deception, the hijackers were furious. They took passengers hostage, resulting in a tense three-day standoff with the South Korean military and law enforcement. The South Korean government, prioritizing the hostages’ safety, engaged in delicate negotiations. Meanwhile, Japan intensified diplomatic efforts, even sending Shinjiro Yamamura, a senior Transport Ministry official, as a hostage to facilitate a resolution.
The crisis was ultimately resolved when the hijackers agreed to release all passengers in exchange for taking Yamamura as a hostage and being granted passage to North Korea. On April 3, 1970, Yodo-go departed Gimpo International Airport for Pyongyang, carrying nine hijackers, three crew members, and Yamamura. The crew and Yamamura safely returned to Japan on April 5, 1970.
The hijackers sought asylum in North Korea. Over the years, some have died, while others have secretly returned to Japan. The Yodo-go incident remains a critical chapter in Japan-North Korea relations, continuing to fuel diplomatic tensions between the two nations.