Hiroko Nagata
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hiroko Nagata | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 8, 1945 |
| Penalty | Death |
| Status | in prison in Japan |
| Occupation | Leftist radical |
- In this Japanese name, the family name is Nagata.
Hiroko Nagata (永田 洋子 Nagata Hiroko?), sometimes mistakenly referred to as Yōko Nagata, is a Japanese leftist radical who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in Japan. Nagata was convicted of murdering, or participating in the murder, of fellow members of the United Red Army (URA) during a group purge in Gunma prefecture, Japan in February 1972.
During the purge, Nagata, acting as vice-chairman of the URA, directed the killing of 14 members of the group by beatings or by forced exposure to frigid winter air temperatures. A URA non-member who was present during the purge was also killed. Arrested on February 16, 1972, Nagata was tried and convicted for her participation in the killings, and was sentenced to death. Nagata, as of May 2008, currently awaits execution of her sentence in prison in Japan. Nagata reportedly has suffered declining health for several years.
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[edit] Biography
Nagata was born in Tokyo and entered Kyoritsu College of Pharmacy (defunct in 2008 and merged into Keio University) to receive training to be a pharmacist. During her time in college, Nagata became involved full-time in left-wing politics, eventually becoming vice-chairman of the URA. Described as physically unattractive plus suffering from Basedow syndrome, Nagata would work herself into what was described as an "hysterical rage" when excited, usually over political issues.[1]
[edit] Purge incident
Japan's leftist student movement in the 1960s pervaded Japan's universities, and, by late in the decade, had become very factionalized, competitive, and violent. After a series of incidents in which leftist student groups attacked and injured or killed law enforcement officials as well as the general public, Japan's national police agency cracked down on the student groups, raiding their hideouts and arresting dozens in 1971 and 1972. Attempting to escape from the police, a core group of radicals from the URA, including Nagata, retreated to a compound in the mountains of Gunma Prefecture during the winter of 1972.[2]
In the second week of February 1972 at the compound, URA's chairman Tsuneo Mori and Nagata 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 where they froze to death in the frigid mountain winter air. Nagata especially targeted group members who, in her opinion, "took too much interest in relations with women and did not devote enough ardor to the revolution." A few were killed for "attempting to escape." One was killed for asking for some tissue paper while inside his sleeping bag, an act that Nagata apparently construed as having a sexual significance.[3]
On February 16, police arrested Mori, Nagata, and six other URA members at the compound or at a nearby village. Five others, armed with rifles and shotguns, managed to escape, fleeing on foot through the mountains towards Karuizawa in nearby Nagano prefecture and eventually took refuge in a mountain guest lodge, initiating the Asama-Sansō incident.[4]
[edit] Criminal trial and sentence
Hiroko Nagata was sentenced to death on June 18, 1982. On February 19, 1993, the Supreme Court of Japan upheld her death sentence. Nagata submitted a plea for a retrial, which was declined by the courts on November 28, 2006. She remains in prison awaiting execution.[5]
Nagata has written several books during her time in prison and has attracted the attention of a support group. Nagata's supporters report that she has been suffering from declining health, including a brain tumor, for several years which have gone untreated.[6]
[edit] Notes
- ^ 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.
- ^ Kyodo, "Court dismisses death-row inmates' translation appeals", Schreiber, p. 217.
- ^ Kyodo, "Court dismisses death-row inmates' translation appeals", Schreiber, p. 217.
[edit] References
[edit] Books
- Schreiber, Mark (1996). Shocking Crimes of Postwar Japan. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 4900737348.
[edit] Movies
- United Red Army at the Internet Movie Database – Kōji Wakamatsu (2007)
[edit] Web
- Japan Times (October 31, 1997). Death-row convict wins libel case. Japan Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
- Kyodo News (May 26, 1998). Court dismisses death-row inmates' translation appeals. FindArticles. Retrieved on 2006-07-09.
- Kyodo News (February 27, 2003). Wanted radical Kunio Bando was in Philippines in 2000: sources. BNet. Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
- Nakamura, Akemi (March 20, 2008). 'We did not leave anything positive,' says ex-radical. Japan Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
- NHK. Asama-Sanso Incident. 50 Years of NHK Television. NHK. Retrieved on 2006-07-09.
- Pulvers, Roger (February 11, 2007). Mammon and myopia: Japan's governing '70s legacy. Japan Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
- Schilling, Mark (March 20, 2008). The final days of revolutionary struggle in Japan. Japan Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-25.
