10 Historic Events Crazier Than Movies

Lockheed Bribery Scandal Leads Japanese Porn Actor to Kamikaze Dive His Airplane Into Yakuza Boss’ Home

American aerospace company Lockheed had a problem when its F-104 “Starfighter” went into production starting in the late 1950s. The supersonic interceptor airplane, whose thin fuselage made it look like a pencil with wings, was as advanced as fighter jets got in those days. However, for all its sleekness, futuristic look, and cutting edge technology, the F-104 was actually a poorly designed airplane that was dangerous to fly because of a tendency to spin out of control.

Lockheed had staked its future on the F-104, and if the airplane didn’t sell, the company could go bankrupt. With the stakes that high, Lockheed’s executives hit upon a simple solution to guarantee sales for their winged deathtrap: bribe officials in charge of defense contracting into buying Starfighters. Thus was born the “Lockheed Bribery Scandal”. Company agents fanned out across the world, spending millions to bribe foreign government officials into buying the problematic F-104 fighters and other Lockheed aircraft. West Germany alone bought almost a thousand F-104s, of which about 300 crashed, killing 116 pilots.

Details of the bribery scheme emerged in the 1970s, and caused political firestorms around the world. Governments in West Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and other countries, were shaken when it was revealed that their officials had been bribed into buying Starfighters. The ensuing scandal in Japan, however, took an exceptionally bizarre turn, with a porn actor demonstrating his displeasure by flying his airplane in a kamikaze dive into the home of a Yakuza boss involved in the bribery.

Lockheed had bribed Yoshio Kodama, a former Japanese war criminal who became a Yakuza boss after his release from an Allied prison in 1948, as a “consultant”, to broker bribes for Japanese government officials. Through Kodama, Lockheed funneled millions to Japanese government officials, including about $3 million in bribes to the office of a Japanese Prime Minister, Kakuei Tanaka. Millions more were paid out to Japanese defense officials. As a result, the Japanese government cancelled purchase orders for military aircraft from Lockheed’s rivals, and inked deals to buy Lockheed airplanes instead.

When the news hit in Japan, it hit like a bombshell. As the scandal gripped the nation, angry protesters picketed the offices and homes of those involved. On March 23rd, 1976, throngs of news reporters covered protesters surrounding shadowy crime boss Kodama’s mansion in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward, amidst a heavy police presence. While that was going on, a porn actor named Mitsuyasu Maeno took off from nearby Chofu airport in his Piper Cherokee airplane, determined to fly the first Japanese kamikaze mission in over three decades. His target: Yoshio Kodama’s home.

Maeno circled the Setagaya Ward, and after sending a final radio message, “Long live the Emperor! Banzai!“, the 29 year old porn actor piloted his airplane into Kodama’s home, slamming into the second floor of the mansion. Maeno was instantly killed, his body mangled in the crash and burned in the ensuing fire. Two of Kodama’s household staff were also injured. The targeted Yakuza boss was more fortunate, however: he was recovering from a stroke in another part of the mansion, and escaped unharmed.

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