Hiroko Nagata
You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. (December 2020) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Hiroko Nagata | |
---|---|
Deceased | |
Conviction(s) | Murder |
Criminal penalty | Death |
Hiroko Nagata (永田 洋子, Nagata Hiroko, 8 February 1945 – 5 February 2011
During the purge, Nagata, acting as vice-chairman of the URA, directed the killing of twelve members of the group by beatings or by forced exposure to frigid winter air temperatures. A civilian who was not a member of the URA who was present during the purge was also killed. Arrested on 16 February 1972, Nagata was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for her participation in the killings. While awaiting execution, Nagata died from brain cancer on 5 February 2011 at the Tokyo Detention House.
Biography
Hiroko Nagata was born in
Purge incident
Japan's leftist
During the second week of February 1972 at the compound, Nagata and the URA's chairman, Tsuneo Mori, initiated a violent purge of the group's members. In the purge, Nagata and Mori directed the beating deaths of eight members and one non-member who happened to be present. Six other members were tied to trees outside, subsequently freezing to death in the extremely cold weather. Nagata especially targeted members who, in her opinion, "took too much interest in relations with women and did not devote enough ardour to the revolution." A few were killed for "attempting to escape"; one member was killed for asking for some tissue paper while inside his sleeping bag, an act that Nagata apparently construed as having a sexual significance.[4]
On 16 February, police arrested Mori, Nagata, and six other URA members both at the compound and at a nearby village. Five others, armed with rifles and shotguns, managed to escape, fleeing on foot through the mountains towards Karuizawa in nearby
Criminal trial, sentence, illness, and death
Nagata was
Nagata wrote several books during her time in prison and attracted the attention of a support group. Her supporters reported that she had suffered from declining health, including a
On 11 October 2008, it was revealed that Nagata had fallen into a critical condition due to the tumor, so her family was called for visitation to the Tokyo Detention Center.[8] Nagata died on 5 February 2011.[7]
Notes
- ^ "Condemned '70s radical Nagata dies" Archived 2011-02-09 at the Wayback Machine, The Japan Times, 7 February 2011
- ^ Schreiber, p. 201.
- ^ Nakamura, "'We did not leave anything positive,' says ex-radical", Schreiber, p. 198-201.
- ^ Schilling, "The final days of revolutionary struggle in Japan", Nakamura, "'We did not leave anything positive,' says ex-radical", Kyodo, "Wanted radical Kunio Bando was in Philippines in 2000: sources", Kyodo, "Court dismisses death-row inmates' translation appeals", Schreiber, p. 201.
- ^ Schilling, "The final days of revolutionary struggle in Japan", Nakamura, "'We did not leave anything positive,' says ex-radical", Kyodo, "Wanted radical Kunio Bando was in Philippines in 2000: sources", Kyodo, "Court dismisses death-row inmates' translation appeals", Schreiber, p. 201–202.
- ^ a b Kyodo, "Court dismisses death-row inmates' translation appeals", Schreiber, p. 217.
- ^ Japan Times, 7 February 2011, p. 2.
- ^ 永田洋子死刑囚が危篤 連合赤軍事件 (in Japanese). Sankei Shimbun. 2008-10-11. Archived from the original on October 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
References
Books
- Schreiber, Mark (1996). Shocking Crimes of Postwar Japan. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 4-900737-34-8.
Movies
- United Red Army at IMDb Kōji Wakamatsu(2007) –
Web
- Japan Times (October 31, 1997). "Death-row convict wins libel case". Japan Times. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- Kyodo News (May 26, 1998). "Court dismisses death-row inmates' translation appeals". FindArticles. Retrieved 2006-07-09.
- Kyodo News (February 27, 2003). "Wanted radical Kunio Bando was in Philippines in 2000: sources". BNet. Retrieved 2008-04-25. [dead link]
- Nakamura, Akemi (March 20, 2008). "'We did not leave anything positive,' says ex-radical". Japan Times. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- NHK. "Asama-Sanso Incident". 50 Years of NHK Television. NHK. Retrieved 2006-07-09.
- Pulvers, Roger (February 11, 2007). "Mammon and myopia: Japan's governing '70s legacy". Japan Times. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- Schilling, Mark (March 20, 2008). "The final days of revolutionary struggle in Japan". Japan Times. Retrieved 2008-04-25.