Prosecutors on Tuesday demanded a 30-month prison term for Japanese Red Army member Mariko Yamamoto for allegedly obtaining a passport illegally for a fellow member in 1974.

The prosecutors said Yamamoto, 61, was involved in a "malicious crime" to systematically dispatch international terrorists abroad on the instruction of Fusako Shigenobu, 56, the founder of the radical group.

They argued it is clear that Yamamoto acted under the direction of Shigenobu based on testimony offered by an alleged male accomplice.

The defense lawyers denied the accused had received instructions from the Japanese Red Army founder.

Presiding Judge Manabu Yamazaki is scheduled to hand down a ruling at the Tokyo District Court on Jan. 15.

Yamamoto is accused of conspiring with Shigenobu and other Japanese Red Army members to submit a falsified passport application form to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in April 1974 to provide Junzo Okudaira, 52, with a passport.

A passport under another man's name was later issued for Okudaira.

He used the passport to depart from Japan in May 1974 and subsequently allegedly participated in various Japanese Red Army terrorist activities.

He has been placed on an international wanted list on suspicion of confinement in a hostage-taking incident at the French Embassy in The Hague in September 1974.

In December last year, prosecutors demanded 30 months in prison for Yamamoto on the falsification charges.

However, the trial then continued after they asked the court to accept changes in her indictment to include the involvement of Shigenobu in the case, a request that was accepted by the court.

In a closing statement, Yamamoto criticized the prosecutors for including Shigenobu in the indictment, saying it clearly shows they intend to seek harsher punishment for the group founder than for others.

Shigenobu, who had been wanted by law enforcement authorities for decades, was arrested in November last year in Osaka Prefecture and has since been indicted on charges of masterminding the 1974 embassy seizure and other charges.

She has also been indicted in connection with the alleged passport fraud involving Okudaira.

Yamamoto left Japan in 1972 and worked at a department store in Paris until August 1974 before moving to Lebanon, where Shigenobu had established the terrorist organization in 1971.

She was in Japan temporarily for the falsification of the documents submitted to the Tokyo passport office, according to the indictment.

Yamamoto was extradited to Japan from Lebanon in March last year along with three other Japanese Red Army members.