Former Red Army Faction member Yoshimi Tanaka pleaded guilty Friday to hijacking a Japan Airlines jet and forcing it to fly to Pyongyang in 1970.
During his first Tokyo District Court trial hearing, 52-year-old Tanaka admitted that he took part in the hijacking and in inflicting minor injuries on five of the people aboard the jet.
"I have no intention to challenge the facts," Tanaka told the court. "I want to express my apology to the passengers and crew for making them experience such terror."