Moriaki Wakabayashi

is a Japanese former rock and roll musician and airline hijacker currently residing in self-imposed exile in North Korea. In the late 1960s, Wakabayashi was a founding member of the Japanese avant-garde rock band Les Rallizes Dénudés, serving as the band's bassist. Wakabayashi was a member of the "Yodogō Group" of the radical New Left Japan Communist League's "Red Army Faction" that carried out the hijacking of Japan Air Lines Flight 351 in 1970, ultimately forcing the plane to fly to North Korea. Wakabayashi currently resides in North Korea, along with other hijackers of the aircraft.

Early life and education Wakabayashi was born in Kusatsu City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, on February 26, 1947. After graduating from Shiga Prefectural Zeze High School, he enrolled in the Faculty of Economics at Dōshisha University in Kyoto, but participated in the hijacking and went into exile before graduating.

Music career In 1967, Wakabayashi became a founding member of the pioneering Japanese noise rock band Les Rallizes Dénudés with classmates at Dōshisha, serving as the band's first bassist. Participation in the hijacking marked Wakabayashi's departure from the band.

Hijacking On March 31, 1970, Wakabayashi was one of nine hijackers who stormed the cockpit of Japan Airlines Flight 351, brandishing samurai swords and pipe bombs. However, the hijackers realized they were tricked after hearing American jazz music playing and finding no welcoming committee awaiting them, whereupon they finally secured passage to North Korea in exchange for releasing the remaining hostages. In North Korea, they were granted political asylum. In April 2014 he was still alive, and residing in North Korea together with other members of his group.