During the summer of 1949, the city of Tokyo experienced three mysterious incidents involving Japanese National Railways (JNR). After he was appointed president of JNR, Sadanori Shimoyama was tasked with firing thousands of employees, many of whom were believed to be affiliated with the Japanese Communist Party. On July 5, Shimoyama was on his way to his office when he stopped at a department store. He never returned to his vehicle, and his mangled body was found on some tracks the following morning. He had been run over by a train, but it was impossible to tell if his death was murder or suicide. Ten days later, an unmanned JNR train was deliberately crashed into Mitaka station, killing six people and injuring 20 others. Ten JNR union members were indicted for sabotage, as authorities believed the incident was retaliation for the upcoming job cuts. Only one suspect, Keisuke Takeuchi, would be convicted after he confessed to the crime. Once he had been given a life sentence, Takeuchi recanted his confession and maintained his innocence until his death in 1967. His family has continually fought to clear his name and newly uncovered evidence suggests that he was in a bathhouse at the time of the crash. On August 17, another JNR train derailed near Matsukawa station after joints and spikes were removed from the track, causing the deaths of three crewmen. Once again, 20 JNR union activists, many of them affiliated with the Communist Party, were accused of orchestrating the crash. However, as the years went on, their convictions were all overturned. Now, many people believe that all three JNR incidents were orchestrated by the authorities as part of a conspiracy to discredit the Communist-leaning union.Robin Warder is a budding Canadian screenwriter who has used his encyclopedic movie knowledge to publish numerous articles at Cracked.com. He is also the co-owner of a pop culture website called The Back Row and recently worked on a sci-fi short film called Jet Ranger of Another Tomorrow. Feel free to contact him here.
