A leftist group has claimed responsibility for an attempted attack Tuesday on Defense Agency headquarters.
In letters to the media dated Wednesday and received Friday, Kakumeigun (revolutionary army) said it used projectile launchers around 11 p.m. Tuesday, and is resorting to violent means to stop the deployment of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq.
Residents in the vicinity of the agency's headquarters in the Ichigaya district of Shinjuku Ward reported two loud bangs at the time of the attack. Police later found two timer-set projectile launchers in the grounds of Zuikoji Temple, about 550 meters from the agency. The launchers were targeted at the agency but projectiles have not been found.
Police suspect the letters were sent by dissident members of the Kakurokyo radical leftist group, police sources said.
They said they resumed their search Friday around the agency for the projectiles and continued their investigation to find those responsible.