The Kamikaze Pornstar
<h2>When ultra-nationalist Yoshio Kodama was attacked by disaffected erotic actor Mitsuyasu Maeno in a kamikaze-style plane crash on his home in Tokyo on 24th March, 1976, it came as a surprise even to Maeno’s friends, who had photographed him, dressed as a World War Two pilot, taking to the skies.</h2><p><br></p><p>The bizarre event, in which Maeno died but Kodama survived, took place whilst Japan was reeling from ‘The Lockheed Scandal’, whereby it emerged that, for 18 years, the American company Lockheed had been bribing Japanese officials to buy their products - with Kodama, a convicted war criminal, as their insider.</p><br><p>In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why even some of Kodama’s supporters would have sympathised with Maeno’s extreme actions; ask whether his appearance in ‘Tokyo Emmanuelle’ truly means Maeno should be described as a ‘porn star’; and reveal how Maeno blagged his way behind the wheel of a rented aircraft to commit his attack…&nbsp;</p><br><p><strong>Further Reading:</strong></p><p>• ‘When a Porn Star Crashed His Plane into a Crime Boss’s Home in Japan’ (Medium, 2021): <a href="https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/when-a-porn-star-crashed-his-plane-into-a-crime-bosss-home-in-japan-54de7ce3f7c0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/when-a-porn-star-crashed-his-plane-into-a-crime-bosss-home-in-japan-54de7ce3f7c0</a></p><p>• ‘Japan Seeks Motive in Crash Into Lockheed Agent's Dome’ (The New York Times, 1976): <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1976/03/24/archives/japan-seeks-motive-in-crash-into-lockheed-agents-home.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/1976/03/24/archives/japan-seeks-motive-in-crash-into-lockheed-agents-home.html</a></p><p>• ‘The Man Who Kamikazed a Yakuza Don's Mansion’ (Oki’s Weird Stories, 2019): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4ecWb2cCDc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4ecWb2cCDc</a></p><br><p><strong>For bonus material and to support the show, visit</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/Patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></a><a href="http://patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Patreon.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><p><strong>We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></a><a href="http://podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>podfollow.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><br><p><em>The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.</em></p><p><em>Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.</em></p><p><em>Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.</em></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
Today In History with The Retrospectors
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Show Notes
When ultra-nationalist Yoshio Kodama was attacked by disaffected erotic actor Mitsuyasu Maeno in a kamikaze-style plane crash on his home in Tokyo on 24th March, 1976, it came as a surprise even to Maeno’s friends, who had photographed him, dressed as a World War Two pilot, taking to the skies.
The bizarre event, in which Maeno died but Kodama survived, took place whilst Japan was reeling from ‘The Lockheed Scandal’, whereby it emerged that, for 18 years, the American company Lockheed had been bribing Japanese officials to buy their products - with Kodama, a convicted war criminal, as their insider.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why even some of Kodama’s supporters would have sympathised with Maeno’s extreme actions; ask whether his appearance in ‘Tokyo Emmanuelle’ truly means Maeno should be described as a ‘porn star’; and reveal how Maeno blagged his way behind the wheel of a rented aircraft to commit his attack…
Further Reading:
• ‘When a Porn Star Crashed His Plane into a Crime Boss’s Home in Japan’ (Medium, 2021): https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/when-a-porn-star-crashed-his-plane-into-a-crime-bosss-home-in-japan-54de7ce3f7c0
• ‘Japan Seeks Motive in Crash Into Lockheed Agent's Dome’ (The New York Times, 1976): https://www.nytimes.com/1976/03/24/archives/japan-seeks-motive-in-crash-into-lockheed-agents-home.html
• ‘The Man Who Kamikazed a Yakuza Don's Mansion’ (Oki’s Weird Stories, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4ecWb2cCDc
For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors
We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors
The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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