A 53-year-old former member of a leftist extremist group was given a suspended 18-month prison term Friday for offenses he committed in the early 1970s -- 29 years after he disappeared while out on bail.

The trial of Takao Kamiguchi, a former member of the Chukakuha leftist guerrilla group, was suspended after a February 1974 session because he disappeared.

Kamiguchi was caught and placed in custody last July after 29 years of life on the run, and his trial resumed in September.

According to the Tokyo District Court, Kamiguchi took part in a demonstration march on the tracks at Shinjuku Station in June 1970 to protest the extension of the Japan-U.S. security treaty, thereby obstructing railway operations.

Also in November 1971, he threw stones at police standing guard at a park in Tokyo during a protest rally opposing ratification of a bilateral agreement on reversion of Okinawa to Japan, the court said.

Presiding Judge Yujiro Nakatani blamed Kamiguchi for using "violent means to realize his own beliefs," but added that the accused is now repentant of his actions.

The judge also criticized Kamiguchi for the 29 years he spent as a fugitive, saying he failed to fulfill his duty as a criminal defendant and substantially delayed the trial proceedings by his own acts.