The public security division of the Metropolitan Police Department searched seven locations Friday related to the wife of Shiro Akagi, one of nine Japanese who hijacked a Japan Airlines jet in 1970.
The search was conducted on a charge that Emiko Akagi violated the passport law.
Emiko Akagi, 46, had been placed on an international wanted list for not complying with a 1988 government order to surrender her passport over allegations she contacted a North Korean agent when traveling in Europe that year. She was arrested Sept. 18 at Narita airport on her arrival from Beijing. Public security agents searched several organizations connected with North Korea and the homes of people related to the case in Tokyo.
According to public security authorities, Akagi belonged to one of the organizations until she left Japan in 1977 and was involved in popularizing the "juche" (self-reliance) philosophy advocated by North Korea's founder Kim Il Song.
Akagi is the first of the four Japanese wives of the hijackers -- all married while they were living in North Korea -- to return to Japan in nearly 10 years and face possible prosecution for their roles related to the radical group.
The search was the second of its kind following one on Sept. 27.
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