Kikumura, Yu (1952–)

Yu Kikumura is the member of the Japanese Red Army (JRA) who was apprehended on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1988 with bombs and bomb-making materials. He may have been planning to bomb targets in New York City.

Kikumura was born on the island of Kyushu, Japan, on July 18, 1952. Little is known of his early life, although he has stated that he was politically influenced by his father, a labor organizer and political activist. In the late 1960s, he participated in the Japanese student protest movement, although he has claimed that his involvement was slight. He is known to have lived in London and Athens for a number of years during the 1970s.

At some point, he became a member of the JRA, a radical Marxist terrorist group that conducted many hijackings and terrorist attacks during the 1970s. Realizing the difficulty ...