is a former member of the

Japanese Red Army The was a militant communist organization active from 1971 to 2001. It was designated a terrorist organization by Japan and the United States. The JRA was founded by Fusako Shigenobu and Tsuyoshi Okudaira in February 1971 and was most active i ...

(JRA). He was a member of the group that attacked the French embassy in The Hague in 1974. In April 1975 he was arrested in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

before being released later that year as part of a deal with the Japanese government to free the hostages that JRA had taken in the AIA building siege in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

. He has been linked with the Japan Airlines Flight 472 hijacking carried out by the JRA on September 28, 1977. As a demand they asked for the release of several JRA members, including Junzo Okudaira, and their demands were met by the Japanese government. Nishikawa remained at large during this time. Following an investigation co-ordinated by

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

, and involving

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, he was located and arrested 20 years later in

Santa Cruz, Bolivia Santa Cruz de la Sierra (; "Holy Cross of the Mountain Range"), commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the largest city in Bolivia and the capital of the Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia), Santa Cruz department. Situated on the Pirai River (Bolivia), P ...

. He was eventually deported to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in November 1997, where he was arrested and put on trial. Nishikawa was found guilty of violating the hijacking law, passport forgery, attempted murder and taking hostages. On 30 March 2007, he was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

. Japan's Supreme Court said on September 13, 2011, that it turned down an appeal by Nishikawa against his sentence of life imprisonment.

References

#http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/far_east/31907.stm BBC News, November 17, 1997 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nishikawa, Jun 1950 births Living people Japanese prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Hijackers Japanese communists Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Japan