TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested two men suspected of concealing a male associate who was accused of murdering a police officer earlier this year after more than four decades on the run, reports NHK (Nov. 25).
Police believe Fumitoshi Sugiura, 44, and Makoto Yoshinaka, 66, are both members of extremist group Chukaku-ha. Sugiura was apprehended at a park in Adachi Ward on suspicion of interfering with the duties of a public servant.
Meanwhile, Yoshinaka is alleged to have provided false information in the registration of the address of a residence in Edogawa Ward with a government office in November of last year.
The suspects have declined to comment on the allegations.
In May, police apprehended Masaaki Osaka, a 67-year-old member of extremist group Chukaku-ha who was wanted in connection with the killing of a 21-year-old police officer during a riot in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward on November 14, 1971. He was later arrested and prosecuted for murder.
Police suspect that Sugiura and Yoshinaka worked to hide Osaka during his 46 years on the run.
Occupation of Okinawa
On the day of the riot, a protest against the occupation of Okinawa by the United States turned violent, with students swinging metal pipes and throwing Molotov cocktails at officers.
Last year, the National Police Agency announced the offering of a reward of three million yen for information leading to the arrest of Osaka.
