Episode 42: Yodo-go Hijacking

Black Torii — Japanese True Crime · Aug 12, 2026 · 13m

It was a Tuesday morning in Tokyo, and by every surface measurement, Flight 351 was a nothing flight — a short domestic hop from Haneda Airport to Fukuoka, two and a half hours at most. One hundred and twenty-two passengers, a crew of seven, a plane called the Yodo. About twelve minutes after takeoff, nine young men stood up from their seats throughout the cabin. They were carrying katana swords. One of them was sixteen years old — still in high school. Another was holding what was described as a homemade bomb. They told the pilot to fly to North Korea. And then things got stranger. Yodo-go…