Tokyo, Sept. 17 (Jiji Press)–Shiro Akagi, a member of the group that hijacked Japan Airlines’ “Yodo” jet in 1970, is seen to have died in North Korea, where he was living, his supporters have said. He was 78. Japanese police are believed to have obtained the information and are working to confirm the fact. Internationally wanted, Akagi was living in a suburb of Pyongyang with a total of five people, including other members of the hijacking group, such as Kimihiro Uomoto, 78, and the wife of Takamaro Tamiya, a late former executive of the Japanese Red Army. Akagi had been repeatedly hospitalized due to his chronic illness. He died of heart failure at a hospital in Pyongyang on Saturday, according to the supporters, who obtained the information from related people in North Korea. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
