Yū Kikumura (菊村 憂 Kikumura Yū, born 1947 in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, romanized "Yu Kikumura" by the Federal Bureau of Prisons[1]) was allegedly a member of the Japanese Red Army, an armed militant organization.
Police arrested Kikumura in Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam in 1986 when they found him carrying a bomb in his luggage. He was later deported to Japan but released on a technicality.
He was arrested on April 12, 1988 at a rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike by a state trooper who thought he was acting suspiciously. Kikumura was found carrying three 18-inch (46-cm) pipe bombs loaded with gunpowder and roofing nails contained in fire extinguishers. Prosecutors said Kikumura had planned to bomb a US Navy recruitment office in the Veteran's Administration building on 34th Street in Manhattan on April 14, the anniversary of the U.S. raid on Libya.
Kikumura was indicted on several counts of interstate transportation of explosive devices and passport violations. After a bench trial on stipulated facts, Kikumura was convicted on November 29, 1988 to serve 30 years in prison. Then U.S. attorney Samuel Alito represented prosecution.
Kikumura, Federal Bureau of Prisons # 09008-050, was released on April 18, 2007.[1] He had served a sentence of 221 months (slightly more than 18 years) at Florence ADMAX USP.
Upon Kikumura's release he was sent back to Japan via San Francisco International Airport. Upon arrival in Japan he was immediately arrested on charges of falsifying official documents. He was released in October 2007.[2]