1974 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries bombing

Far-left terrorist attack in Tokyo August 2026 1974 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries bombing ja 三菱重工爆破事件 Marunouchi 2chome Building 2012-10-08.JPG The building where the bombing took place, pictured 2012 Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan 35 40 47 N 139 45 46 E inline,title 1974 8 30 y 12:45 pm UTC+9 Time bomb 8 376+ East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front On 30 August 1974, the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, was bombed, killing eight people and injuring at least 376 others. The bombing was committed by the East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front, a far-left, anti-Japanese militant organization, against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for supplying the United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War. It was the deadliest terrorist attack in Japan until the Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995. Category:Terrorist incidents in Japan Background The East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front (ja Higashi Ajia Hannichi Busō Sensen; EAAJAF) was a Japanese far-left organization, influenced by the New Left movement. Founded in 1972, it espoused a communist anti-Japaneseism ideology, with anarchist leanings. The EAAJAF viewed the Empire of Japan as the "perfect evil" and condemned the Pacific War as an "aggressive war" committed by Japan. In 1971, the EAAJAF's predecessor organization had launched a campaign of non-fatal bombings against the Japanese state, especially targeting symbols associated with Japanese imperialism, but in 1974 escalated its campaign to include the use of violence. On 14 August 1974, the EAAJAF tried to blow up the bridge over which Emperor Hirohito's royal train was travelling, which they code-named the "Rainbow Operation", but this was aborted because a member was spotted shortly before it was to be put into action.194 The following day Mun Se-gwang, a Korean-Japanese member of Chongryon and a far-left militant organization tied to the EAAJAF, attempted to assassinate President Park Chung-hee of South Korea. Despite Mun's failure to kill Park, the attack soured the already fragile Japan–South Korea relations and encouraged the EAAJAF's Wolf cell to commit new terrorist bombings in sympathy with Mun. The EAAJAF targeted Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, a large Japanese corporation which manufactured weapons for use by the United States against North Vietnam in the Vietnam War in the early 1970s.Andrews William https://throwoutyourbooks.wordpress.com/2014/08/30/east-asia-anti-japan-armed-front-mitsubishi-bombing/ August 30th, 1974: The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Headquarters Bombing Throw Out Your Books 30 August 2014 6 July 2018 6 July 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180706050406/https://throwoutyourbooks.wordpress.com/2014/08/30/east-asia-anti-japan-armed-front-mitsubishi-bombing/ live Bombing Members of the 'Wolf' (狼 ja Ōkami) cell of EAAJAF planted two home-made time bombs containing 45 kilograms of explosives in a flower pot at the entrance of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' head office block in the busy Marunouchi district of Tokyo. The EAAJAF gave a telephone warning to the people inside the building eight minutes before the explosion, but it was dismissed as a hoax. Another warning was made four minutes later after the first warning was ignored, but the building was not evacuated. One of the bombs exploded at 12:45 p.m. (UTC+9), lunchtime; the other failed to explode.https://books.google.com/books?id=8JxPZmPNzuIC&q=Mitsubishi+Heavy+Industries%2C+1974+bomb&pg=PA440 Terrorism: From Robespierre to the Weather Underground Albert Parry 23 January 2013 Courier Corporation 9780486161853 Google Books Five people, two of them Mitsubishi employees, were killed immediately, and three more died in hospital shortly afterwards. An estimated 376 people were injured in the blast, with about 330 people taken to hospital, of whom 116 were Mitsubishi employees.https://www.nytimes.com/1974/09/01/archives/tokyo-uneasy-for-future-after-downtown-bombing-fears-even-empty.html Tokyo Uneasy for Future After Downtown Bombing; Fears Even Empty Threats Could Cripple Business Richard Halloran The New York Times September 1974 3 December 2024 6 July 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20241203115904/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/09/01/archives/tokyo-uneasy-for-future-after-downtown-bombing-fears-even-empty.html live The explosion shattered the glass of the office block up to the eleventh storey, and that of buildings opposite including the headquarters of Mitsubishi Electric. It was loud enough to be heard from Shinjuku, over 5 km away.https://books.google.com/books?id=xCwpDwAAQBAJ&q=Mitsubishi+Heavy+Industries%2C+1974+bomb&pg=PA185 Dissenting Japan: A History of Japanese Radicalism and Counterculture from 1945 to Fukushima William Andrews 15 August 2016 Oxford University Press 9781849049184 Google Books185 Vehicles and some trees in the streets were also destroyed. Aftermath The bombing, which caused many more casualties than the EAAJAF expected due to the lack of evacuation, caused an outrage among the media. One editor said "This incident is a most atrocious challenge to our society. Society itself was the target and the victim." The Japan Times called for a "show of public wrath" against the terrorists. However, rightist Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka and leaders of leftist parties remained silent about the incident. Nervousness among the Tokyo population increased following two other bombings carried out by the group in the city in 1974, with the police still not having made arrests.https://www.nytimes.com/1974/12/10/archives/tokyo-bomb-blast-the-third-in-recent-months-injures-13.html Tokyo Bomb Blast, the Third In Recent Months, Injures 13 Richard Halloran The New York Times 10 December 1974 6 July 2018 6 July 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180706050358/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/12/10/archives/tokyo-bomb-blast-the-third-in-recent-months-injures-13.html live Seven members of EAAJAF were arrested on 19 May 1975. In 1987, Masashi Daidoji and Toshiaki Masunaga were convicted and sentenced to death. Daidoji, leader of the former group's Wolf cell, said during court hearings that the bombing was "a mistake". In May 1999 while on death row, he apologized to the victims for the first time, saying "Our causing casualties is not something I can justify. I would like to apologize from the bottom of my heart."https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Death+row+inmate+apologizes+to+victims+of+1974+bombing.-a055895554 Death row inmate apologizes to victims of 1974 bombing Free Online Library 6 July 2018 9 June 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190609054047/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Death%2Brow%2Binmate%2Bapologizes%2Bto%2Bvictims%2Bof%2B1974%2Bbombing.-a055895554 live Daidoji died of multiple myeloma on 24 May 2017 at the Tokyo Detention Center. Death-row inmate convicted of 1970s leftist serial bombings dies in prison The Japan Times 24 May 2017 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/05/24/national/crime-legal/death-row-inmate-convicted-1970s-leftist-serial-bombings-dies-prison/ 6 July 2018 6 July 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180706080714/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/05/24/national/crime-legal/death-row-inmate-convicted-1970s-leftist-serial-bombings-dies-prison/ live EAAJAF member and bombing participant Satoshi Kirishima, who had been hiding from the Japanese police since 1975,29 January 2024 Notorious bombing fugitive Satoshi Kirishima reportedly dies after nearly half a century on the run in Japan https://www.cbsnews.com/news/notorious-bombing-fugitive-satoshi-kirishima-dies-49-years-on-the-run-in-japan-report/ CBS News en-US 30 August 2026 30 January 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240130023225/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/notorious-bombing-fugitive-satoshi-kirishima-dies-49-years-on-the-run-in-japan-report/ live revealed his identity in January 2024 in a hospital in Kanagawa, stating he wanted to die by his real name.https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp/news_society/articles/000334503.html 病院で発見 指名手配 桐島聡容疑者（70）か　逃亡から約50年 潜伏先は 30 August 2026 26 January 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240126112104/https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp/news_society/articles/000334503.html live It was revealed he had been living under the pseudonym of "Hiroshi Uchida" in Fujisawa. He died three days later in Kamakura. 29 January 2024 連続企業爆破「桐島聡」名乗る男が死亡 末期がんで神奈川県鎌倉市の病院に入院 https://www.sankei.com/article/20240129-LEKEWOUXXVIKZAK7DISHUXCPM4/ 30 January 2024 Sankei Shimbun ja 30 January 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240130133508/https://www.sankei.com/article/20240129-LEKEWOUXXVIKZAK7DISHUXCPM4/ dead The 1974 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries bombing was the deadliest terrorist attack as defined by modern standards that had occurred in Japan at the time, and remained the deadliest for over two decades until the Tokyo subway sarin attack on 20 March 1995 which killed 12 people. See also Bombing of the Fusetsu no Gunzo and Institute of Northern Cultures Bombing of the Soji-ji Ossuary References External links Associated Press video of the bomb's aftermath - YouTube Category:20th-century anarchist terrorist incidents Category:1974 building bombings Category:Shōwa era Category:Military history of Tokyo Category:1974 mass murders Category:Communist terrorist incidents in Asia Category:20th-century mass murders in Japan Category:Far-left politics in Japan Category:1974 in Tokyo Category:Terrorist incidents in Tokyo Category:August 1974 in Japan Category:Terrorist incidents in Japan in 1974 Category:1974 murders in Japan Category:Murder in Tokyo Category:Building bombings in Japan Category:Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Category:1974 in economic history Category:1974 in international relations Category:Japan–United States relations Category:Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War Category:Industrial fires and explosions in Japan Category:1970s industrial disasters Category:Attacks on commercial buildings in Japan