Several terrorist groups
based in Japan, Philippines
By Jim Lea, Stars and
Stripes
The State Department’s terrorism Web page lists no terrorist
groups known to be operating in North Korea.
There are several terrorist groups based in Japan and the
Philippines, however, according to the site.
Neither of the two groups listed in Japan — Aum Shinrikyo and
the Japanese Red Army — are believed to be especially active in Asia. Aum, which
carried out the sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway system in 1995, changed its name to
Aleph and disavowed the teachings of its founder, Shoko Asahara.
The Japanese Red Army — commonly known as JRA — has been
decimated by arrests. Never very large, but extremely violent, it now is believed to have
only about a half dozen members who may be traveling in Asia or Lebanon, according to the
site.
Aum Shinrikyo
Aum Shinrikyo (Supreme Truth) was founded by Asahara in 1987. An
enemy of both the Japanese government and the United States, it at one time had about
40,000 members worldwide.
Aum Shinrikyo acquired a huge hoard of money through street donations
in Japan, where it initially was recognized by the government as a religious organization.
The group purchased a large area of land in Australia, where it intended to develop
weapons of mass destruction.
On March 20, 1995, its members dispersed sarin, a toxic nerve gas, in
the Tokyo subway system, killing 12 people. Some 6,000 people initially were said to have
been injured. The State Department Web site says officials now believe that about 1,300
suffered physical injuries while the rest were victims of psychological trauma.
Asahara and 10 other group members were arrested shortly after the
attack. Nine have been convicted, with four being sentenced to death and five to life in
prison.
Asahara and one of his followers still are on trial, according to an
official of the Tokyo District Court. Asahara’s trial began in April 1996. His 179th
trial session was held in December.
The reorganized Aum is believed to have 1,500 to 2,000 members. Dewey
Brackett, author of a book on the cult, said Aum no longer has an international network.
The Japanese government revoked recognition of the group as a religious organization, but
has not outlawed it as subversive.
Japanese Red Army
Fusasko Shigenobu formed the Japanese Red Army in late 1969 to early
1970. Japanese police said the group had just over 20 members, but they carried out a
number of extremely violent attacks aimed at overthrowing the Japanese government and
creating a world revolution.
Shigenobu and most of her followers fled Japan in late 1970, after
members of the group who were operating a training camp north of Tokyo killed several
recruits they believed to be police spies.
Seven JRA members carried out the first Japanese airliner hijacking
in 1970. The plane was flown to Pyongyang where they received sanctuary from the North
Korean government. Over the years, at least one of the terrorists is said to have died in
North Korea and while others returned to Japan, where they were arrested, convicted and
sentenced to prison.
It is unclear how many of the JRA terrorists still are living in
North Korea, but the U.S. government demanded Pyongyang return them to Japan as one step
in having North Korea removed from the U.S. list of states that sponsor terrorism.
Pyongyang has refused.
In 1972, the JRA carried out a massacre at Lod Airport in Israel. The
group also attempted to capture the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. One of its
members was arrested in New Jersey carrying explosives. He is believed to have been
planning a bombing to coincide with the bombing of a Naples, Italy, USO in 1988, which
killed five people. He and another JRA member who was arrested in the United States in
1996 now are serving sentences in U.S. prisons.
When the group fled Japan, it reportedly established a training camp
for Middle East terrorists in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Shigenobu was arrested last
November, when she attempted to slip back into Japan. After her arrest, she told
authorities she had been in and out of Japan several times previously. She now is awaiting
trial.
The Philippines
Terrorist organizations based in the Philippines are the Abu Sayyaf
Group, the Alex Boncayao Brigade and the New People’s Army.
The Abu Sayyaf Group primarily carries out activities aimed at
establishing a separate Islamic state in the southern Philippines. It also has carried out
kidnappings in Malaysia.
The Alex Boncayao Brigade, which has about 500 members, operates in
Manila and the central Philippines. It is believed to be involved in the murder of U.S.
Army Col. James Rowe in 1989.
The New People’s Army, with an estimated strength of 6,000 to
8,000, is the military arm of the Philippine Communist Party. It operates primarily in
rural Luzon and the southern Philippines, but has cells in Manila and other large cities,
the state department Web site says.
It is opposed to any U.S. military presence in the country and has
vowed to attack U.S. Embassy personnel and American troops taking part in exercises in the
country.
Some of the Philippine groups are believed to have ties to Osama bin
Ladin’s al-Qaida organization. Al-Qaida is said to have planned attacks against Pope
John Paul II, U.S. and Israeli embassies in Manila in 1994, airline flights to the United
States, and an assassination of President Clinton in Manila in 1995.
None of those attacks were carried out, however.
A complete list of terrorist organizations around the world can be
found at www.state.gov.
Naoko Sekioka contributed to this report.
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