On January 25th, 2024, Hiroshi Uchida, a 70-year-old man with terminal cancer made a deathbed confession to the Kamakura hospital staff treating him: “I am Satoshi Kirishima.” On January 29th, he died. For 49 years, Kirishima was a fugitive pursued by the police for his involvement with the East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front’s bombing campaign that terrified Tokyo in the 70s. While others from the group were caught and sentenced to death, Kirishima remained on the run and off the radar by working as a day-labourer and living a solitary life amongst neighbours who affectionately dubbed him “Ucchan,” a quiet guy known to like a beer and rock music.
JA