＜Serial Investigative Reports: Chapter 1> Darkness of arson attack case against a residence of Mr. Shinzo Abe,A former Japan Prime Minister

Profile: Shunsuke Yamaoka
CEO and editor in chief of Access Journal

Born in Ehime prefecture, on August 1959. Majored a Japanese history course at Hosei Graduate School but dropped out during master degree. For over two and half years, worked as an editorial staff at a small editorial production company and became a freelance journalist at age 29. Since January 1991, while be a full time staff reporter at Shukan Taishu, a weekly tabloid, contributed a number of scandal scoops mainly for Uwasano-Shinso, Zaikai-Tenbo and other magazines.
Published books: “AMWAY Nobody writes about” (Apple publishing company), “ Silver Bank a Case of records of tapping by Takefuji Ltd.,” (Sou publishing company), “ Undercover reportage into Fukushima Daiichi A truth of highly contaminated sites and nuclear workers”(Futaba publishing company).
On December 2nd, 2003, his articles drove a then chairman of Takefuji ltd., Mr. Yasuo Takei who was one of the leading world’s billionaires, into a jail.
In July 2005, someone set a fire on his house. In that evening, he was sued for defamation over the article claiming that the perpetrator of the arson attack was alleged to the cause of the trouble over Tamio Araki, a chairman of Pashikon, a world’s famous construction consulting company. However, he won the case.
His online independent media, “Access Journal” was introduced as a paid online site which reports the backside of backsides of the news by “Media Times” at a colum of Asahi Newspaper. As a pioneer on online media industry, he has made comments to the interview by NHK broadcaster at a broadcasting program called “News Watch 9” under the title of “ demerit of the deceasing information paper.

On August 2014, I (Yamaoka), together with my journalist colleague Yu Terasawa, have begun investigating the cases involving with the previous criminal case which had been veiled with mystery for more than a decade. The purpose of our visit to Shimonoseki city, Yamaguchi prefecture was to reveal the hidden crime, which was an arson attack against a house of Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister who was in that time, a parliament member of Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP).

The case was taken a place between June and August 2000

(caption of the photo= Yamaguchi Newspaper, dated on November 12th, 2003).

The petrol bombs were thrown several times not only against his residence, but aimed at his office of his political supporters’ group, with even a wedding ceremony building residing next to his house being involved with the incident. One of the bombs thrown to a parking of a house of Abe was exploded with his three cars being half burned smoking around . The case was so grave that the fire was about to lead a homicide case.

On November,2003, regarding this arson attack case, Fukuoka and Yamaguchi prefectural police agencies, had jointly worked to arrest 6 persons as suspects, including Mr. Saichi Koyama, a then president of local construction company named “ Keiyu Kaihatsu Ltd.,” , Motoki Takano, a head of Kudo clan, one of the largest designated crime syndicates( known as a Yakuza group ) aligned with this attempted arson crime.

(Photo above =Article of 6 persons including a head of Kudo Clan, Yakuza arrested, Photo below= A house of Shinzo Abe, a former Prime Minister of Japan)

(Photo-Article of Arson attack against a house of Shinzo Abe in Shimonoseki city, Yamaguchi prefecture)

Koyama was sentenced for 13 -year ?imprisonment on March, 2007 and Takano, a head of Kudo Clan, was for 20 years in jail by the first verdict. Though they have appealed their innocence to the higher court, they were dismissed and the court addressed that they have been under imprisonment according to what it was sentenced by the first court.

Despite its severe punishment, Koyama was already pardoned temporarily on August 2014 (at the first sentence, the duration of in-jail period included 930 days etc ) and his where-about was identified through some leaked information.

Therefore, I decided to find him out in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi prefecture. However, in the first journey, I was not able to meet him, because either he was not yet released from the jail in that time.

Despite my failure to interview him, I had a sort of satisfactory results during the visit as a journalist. After returning back to Tokyo, I was trying to sell the story to the weekly tabloid but was refused by an editor with an excuse that a core of the story was missing. Since then, I have spent nearly 2 years and a half investigation around the case, trying to obtain evidences, but in vain.

For these periods of my investigation into the case, the Prime Minister’s Office of Shinzo Abe has started escalating his tyrant dictatorship and even his office has been extended into 9 years with 3 terms. Though his office entered into the 5th year, his intention stays firmed that he would like to contain his power for longer term.

Facing this political situation of Japan in crisis, I have decided to report as much as details of whatever I have investigated about the case, although I admit myself that a depth of investigation was not so satisfactory.

The reason why I have decided to shed a light upon this forgotten case of Shinzo Abe, is that this contains a level of fatal scandal, which might have been so explosive to hinder even the birth of Shinzo Abe Prime Minister office, in case if it was fully covered in depth by the mainstream media in Japan in that time, just when it occurred.

There are legal facts inscribed at a paper of judgement at a court, which I have obtained.

“ Koyama, a defendant who in that time, was burden with heavy financial issue to manage his company “Keiyu Kaihatsu”, had received 3 million yen reward from a local secretary of Shinzo Abe, a then member of LDP after Koyama has claimed his due right over contribution to sabotaging the mayoral election in Shimononoseki city, where Ms. Koga, a candidate for a mayor, a rival against LDP was running (Photo caption= Yamaguchi Newspaper, on March 10th, 2007), (etc?omission), Koyama, a defender was arrested for extortion against Saeki on August 30th, 2008 but released from the temporarily arrest on September 21rd,”

“Koyama, a defendant in later October, Heisei 11 era (in 1999) testified that he met again Takano, an accused and confessed to him that he was trapped by a secretary of Shinzo Abe about the extortion case?etc described ( partially omitted, the editorial staff added the date inside).

Certainly there is no room to get sympathized on as such a criminal behavior that Koyama has thrown petrol bombs, there was a justified reason why Koyama felt revengeful toward him, given a fact that Koga, a who was a parliament member of Democratic Party of Japan has stood up as a rival against Kiyoshi Ejima, who was a puppet and tamed by Shinzo Abe. It was expected that a fierce battle would have taken a place during the mayoral election between them. Being fearful about the intensified collision, the office of Shinzo Abe in Shimonoseki city, has possibility been alleged to hire Koyama ( who had 8 criminal records ) whom Abe had known for long time , in order to execute the sabotage over the mayoral election.
(Photo Above: One of the brochures distributed during mayoral election campaign, defaming the reputation of Koga. There are a few other different types of brochures intended to harm the credibility of Koga. Just to get clarification, Koga is not a Japanese-Korean contrary to what the brochures claimed. The brochures tell the harsh racism).

In a next series, I would like to introduce the excuses testified by Sahaku a then secretary of Shinzo Abe. This tells that Sahaku paid 3 million yen, in response to the request of Koga. Despite its payment, Koyama had likely to grow his remorse against the office, since he was arrested by police over this case.

In fact, Riki Takeda, a then secretary, and OB of Yamaguchi Prefectural Police Agency, a senior colleague of Saeki, admitted that he had given Koyama a letter of confirmation. This is an evidence that a powerful and prominent local secretary of Shinzo Abe, had dispatched an assignment for Koyama. According to the testimonies of local resources in Shimonoseki city, a few months before the arson attack against a house of Shinzo Abe, on March 2000, there was reported a criminal case of which a front glass at a car of Ejima, a then mayor was artificially broken into pieces.However, this case was not classified as a criminal case.

In that time when the residence of Shinzo Abe was raided by an arson attack, there was an allegation of terrorist involvement over this incident, since Abe had been politically devoted himself enthusiastically for rescuing the Japanese abductees committed by North Korean agents during the same period. However, the where-about a piece of truth was found in Koyama, so called anti-social force (with 8 criminal records for drug and bodily injury), retaliating against him grounded for the fact that Abe did not keep his words to reward Koyama with what Koyama requested (allegedly construction matter). The outraged Koyama has decided to commit a crime by persuading Takano, a head of Yakuza group in Kita Kyusyu-city, Fukuoka. They had met each other first time as a hit man. Koyama told him with persuasion tone, “We can make money out of the retaliation between 50 million yen to 100 million yen worth ( between half million US dollar and 1 million dollar worth), by driving the office of Abe edge to execute his words)

Furthermore, Koyama has sent twice a letter of protesting against the office of Abe, over the arrest ?case of him accused for blackmail, but his claims were ignored. In the end, the office of Abe answered to his protesting accusation through their lawyer, that they were unable to respond to his request. Then, it drove Koyama to decided leaking the scandals of Abe office toward the weekly tabloids and newspapers, but all in vain. This resulted in him committing to arson attack plotted with Takano.

There is a high possibility that Abe, Japan Prime Minister himself had acknowledged its existence since after the troubles occurred during mayoral election including sabotage activities. Because there were confirmed some testimonies among locals that Koyama had indeed met in person Shinzo Abe, a Japan prime minister at the Abe’s office in Shimonoseki.