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The Japanese Sekigun Terrorists: Red Army Samurai Warriors

1989; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 13; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/01924036.1989.9688900

2157-6475

Dae H. Chang, Masami Yajima,

Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence

[Editor's Note] For some time now, experts in terrorism have predicted that the potential and opportunity exist for terrorism to occur here in the United States. To this date, Americans have yet to feel the true impact of domestic terrorism, even though we have witnessed some American soldiers, diplomats, tourists, businessmen, and civilians becoming victims of terroristic activities in foreign lands. Now, the possibility of terrorism is ever more present as we, as a nation, have declared war against the drug cartels of Columbia and other South and Central American nations. Terrorism is a word that is easier to explain than to define, though it is traditionally defined as a tactic whereby force and violence are used indiscriminately to produce certain effects in a group of people, or a nation, so as to secure some socio-political ends. Moreover, terrorism embodies the following forms: (1) assassination; (2) kidnaping; (3) hostage taking; (4) destruction of property; and (5) extortion. Aside from some general terrorism as known in the West, Asian nations have witnessed few terroristic activities; it is anticipated that there will be more in the years ahead due to increased ideological, religious, trade, and political conflicts. The paper presented here is a joint product of many scholars and institutions. The paper was written initially for the 4th Annual Symposium on Organized Crime and International Terrorism (September 11 through 15, 1989) hosted by the Office of International Criminal Justice of the University of Illinois at Chicago. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Richard Ward and Harold Smith and their staff members for assistance during the conference. I also wish to thank Drs. Kanehiro Hoshino and Yutaka Harada, both of the National Research Institute of Police Science, Tokyo; Professor Minoru Yokoyama of Kokugakuin University, Tokyo; and Professor Sadahiko Takahashi of Kinki University, Osaka. The Japanese Red Army—Sekigun—occupies a unique position in the annals of international terrorism. It is hoped that this paper will stimulate further thinking about international terrorism in terms of its linkage, use of sophisticated equipment, intelligence gathering activities, strategies, collaboration with other regional factions, and other vital information that may help law enforcement and other agencies prepare for eventual terroristic attacks on U.S. soil. Are we, as civilians, ready to accept the fact that terrorists may already have been dispatched here only to await instructions from Libya, or Colombian drug lords, to strike nerve centers in the United States? Is terrorism a sole responsibility of the federal government or state governments? What about the local governments? Do private security and private business have the right and ability to get involved? If so, how? Even though this paper does not offer solutions to the ever increasing menace of terrorism to civilized societies, at least it should shed some light on the Japanese Red Army and the ramifications of their international connections. If this paper provides useful discussion topics for general debate and suggests future directions for terror control strategies, our purpose is at least partially fulfilled. Lastly, the Editor wishes to thank Professor Masami Yajima, my co-author, for his effort and devotion to this research.