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Tohko Aoyama: Independent researcher, PhD, The University of Tokyo (Environmental Studies, International Cooperation Studies) Non-fiction writer, journalist

〚Profile〛

In 1985, she was a flight attendant for Japan Airlines international flights. A flight attendant from the same group as they were killed in the line of duty on JAL Flight 123. After getting married and retiring, she became an instructor for a human resources development program at a subsidiary of Japan Airlines.

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Message to foreign bereaved families

 

Why I am so committed to non-fiction I want to ask how those who have obstructed and cooperated in the investigation of the truth for 40 years, and those who know but pretend not to know, have deceived and driven the public out of control. The Internet is full of fake articles denying my lawsuit and those of my family, as well as slanderous articles in English that slander me, and the Wikipedia page for JAL123 also contains false information. There is only one thing we should do. Conduct a reinvestigation. To do this, we must continue to ask the government to let the public listen to the raw audio recorded on the voice recorder without hiding it. We must think more deeply about why innocent passengers had to die and why we can only speculate. In order to express our heartfelt condolences to the 520 people who died, we must not turn a blind eye to the "truth we do not want to see." Denying the past creates the future. Only when the cause of the crash of JAL Flight 123 is fully elucidated can Japan-U.S. relations truly aim for peace. Japanese and American lawmakers should join forces to encourage the American families of the victims to actively seek the truth. The National Transportation Safety Board has the original voice recorder from Japan Airlines Flight 123. The families should be allowed to listen to it. This lawsuit is worth filing, and if military involvement is proven, it could lead to state compensation from both Japan and the United States. It could serve as a catalyst to prevent military misfires and collisions between military and civilian aircraft around the world.

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〚Biography〛

Aoyama is described as having worked as a flight attendant for Japan Airlines, including on international flights.[１] According to the author's bio, she later became an instructor for an affiliated company, leveraging the expertise gained from JAL's cabin crew training department, and was involved in hospitality training for government agencies and corporations.

Along with "Japan Airlines Flight 123 Crash: The Relics Tell the Truth" (2018) and "Japan Airlines Flight 123 Crash: The Repercussions and the Courtroom" (2019), her book was selected as a recommended book by the National Association of School Libraries for three consecutive years.[２]

On July 16, 2019, she spoke at a symposium held at Waseda University entitled "Information Disclosure and the Right to Know: Now is the Time to Question the Public Documents of Japan Airlines Flight 123," together with lawyer Hiroshi Miyake and Dokkyo University Professor Takuro Morinaga.[３]

In March 2021, the family of the victims, who had doubts about the cause of the crash, filed a lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court seeking the disclosure of data from the voice recorder and flight recorder, but the claim was dismissed in October 2022.[４]

 

〚Arguments and Evaluation〛

In his work, Aoyama, regarding the Japan Airlines Flight 123 crash, extracts page 116 of 62-2-JA8119 (Appendix to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Report), a Boeing 747SR-100 aircraft belonging to Japan Airlines Co., Ltd., JA8119, Ueno Village, Tano District, Gunma Prefecture (Test and Research Materials on JA8119), which was published simultaneously with the accident investigation report. Based on a calculation formula that assumes the "point of application of abnormal external force" in the specifications used in the calculation, he proposes the possibility that the "flying object" that applied force from the outside to the vertical stabilizer was military equipment as one hypothesis. For the existence of this external force, please refer to "Flight Recorders Tell Their Stories,” Co-authored by Takeshi Yoneyama, Professor Emeritus of Kanazawa University in the field of science and engineering, and Masaya Yasukochi, former engineer at Hitachi, Ltd., and the YouTube video.［５］［６］［７］

Furthermore, the article claims that the burn damage to the 520 bodies found after the crash was not typical of a passenger plane crash, suggesting the possibility that weapons fuel, unavailable to the general public, may have been used. It also cites eyewitness accounts of two F-4 fighter jets, not mentioned in official records, tracking the JAL aircraft, suggesting the possibility that the Japan Air Self-Defense Force was monitoring the flight situation until the crash. Regarding this, a weekly magazine article from that time stated that F-4 fighter jets took off from Hyakuri Air Base before the crash. (Weekly Asahi, August 30, 1985)

 

Furthermore, the author argues that the state of charring on the 520 bodies discovered at the crash site was not typical of a passenger plane crash. Based on medical evidence such as papers by Professor Ken Furukawa of the Department of Forensic Medicine, Gunma University School of Medicine, and Professor Shigemitsu Oshida of the Department of Forensic Medicine, Nihon University School of Medicine, who conducted autopsies at the time ("Report from the JAL Plane Crash Site," Japanese Society of Forensic Medicine, 1986), "Ken Furukawa, Kazuo Suzuki, Special Report on the JAL Plane Crash, 1986, Japanese Society of Forensic Medicine," and "Messages from Corpses," Yosensha, 2018), as well as "100 Cases of Identification in the JAL Plane Crash," compiled by the Gunma Prefectural Police Headquarters, the author claims that the abnormal condition of the bodies suggests the possibility that weapons fuel, which is not available to the general public, may have been used. In addition, the author presents eyewitness accounts that two F-4 fighter jets, which do not appear in official records, were tracking the JAL plane, suggesting the possibility that the Japan Air Self-Defense Force was monitoring the flight situation until the crash.

Records from the Nagano Prefectural Fire and Disaster Prevention Division, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, titled "60. Japan Airlines Crash" (published by Touko Aoyama in "The Truth of 40 Years, 2025"), reveal that the Self-Defense Forces identified the location of the crash site in Ueno Village, Gunma Prefecture, and reported it to the police on the night of the crash. Furthermore, an extra edition of the Shinano Mainichi Shimbun on the day of the crash stated the location was in the mountains of Ueno Village, Gunma Prefecture, indicating that the previously published reports of the unknown crash site were inaccurate.

Regarding the cause of the accident, the investigation report published by the Japan Transport Safety Board (formerly the Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission) attributed the cause to damage resulting from improper repair of the rear pressure bulkhead. However, the Gunma Prefectural Prosecutor's Office deemed this rear pressure bulkhead theory insufficient and decided not to prosecute, leaving the cause of the crash as an estimation.

She argues that it is crucial for the government to disclose the raw data of Japan Airlines Flight 123, which exceeds the 30-year limit on information disclosure globally, for Japan Airlines to return it to public records, and for the wreckage of the aircraft, which remains submerged in Sagami Bay, to be recovered and reinvestigated. She works alongside bereaved families who have doubts about the cause of the crash.［８］［９］

 

〚Books〛

• *To the Stars in the Sky: Memories of JAL Flight 123*, April 29, 2010, Magazine Land, ISBN 4-94410-190-2

• *New Facts about the JAL Flight 123 Crash: Approaching the Truth from Eyewitness Accounts*, July 30, 2017, Kawade Shobo Shinsha, ISBN 978-4-309-02594-0 - Selected Book by the National School Library Association

• *The Beginning of the Suspicion in the JAL Flight 123 Crash: To the Stars in the Sky*, May 28, 2018, Kawade Shobo Shinsha, ISBN 978-4-309-02702-9

• *The Artifacts of the JAL Flight 123 Crash Tell the Truth*, July 21, 2018, Kawade Shobo Shinsha, ISBN 978-4-309-02711-1 - Books selected by the National Association of School Libraries

• "The Repercussions of the JAL Flight 123 Crash: And To the Courtroom" July 12, 2019, Kawade Shobo Shinsha ISBN 978-4-309-02812-5 - Books selected by the National Association of School Libraries

• "JAL Flight 123 Crash: Overturning the Pressure Bulkhead Theory" July 21, 2020, Kawade Shobo Shinsha ISBN 978-4-309-02906-1

• "JAL Flight 123 Crash Incident: JAL Trial" December 2, 2022, Kawade Shobo Shinsha ISBN 978-4-309-03052-4

• "JAL Flight 123 Crash Incident: Hidden Bodies" August 13, 2024, Kawade Shobo Shinsha ISBN 978-4-309-03202-3

•"JAL Flight 123 Crash Incident:The truth of 40 years,kawade syobo shinsha ISBN 978-4-309-03973-2

Supervision

• "Manga: The 'Truth' Nobody Writes About: Why Did Japan Airlines Flight 123 Crash?" by Takuro Morinaga, supervised by Touko Aoyama, manga by Mitsuri Maeyama, Takarajimasha, July 2024

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Sources

  1. ^ a b “New Facts About the Japan Airlines Flight 123 Crash: Author Profile of Touko Aoyama”. Kawade Shobo Shinsha. Retrieved March 4, 2026.

  2. ^ “Selected Books by the National School Library Association”. National School Library Association. Retrieved March 4, 2026.

  3. ^ “July 16 Symposium: ‘Information Disclosure and the Right to Know - Now is the Time to Question the Public Documents of JAL Flight 123’” held. Kawade Shobo Shinsha (July 16, 2019). Retrieved March 4, 2026.

  4. ^ “Tokyo District Court Dismisses Request for Disclosure of Flight and Audio Data by Families of JAL Accident Victims”. Jiji Press (October 13, 2022). Retrieved March 4, 2026.

  5. ^ “Aircraft Accident Investigation Report JA8119”. Japan Transport Safety Board. Retrieved March 4, 2026.

  6. Ministry of Transport Accident Investigation Committee, “Appendix to Aircraft Accident Investigation Report (Test and Research Materials Regarding JA8119)” https://jtsb.mlit.go.jp/aircraft/download/62-2-JA8119-huroku.pdf

  7. Flight Recorder Speaks YouTube Video

  8. ^ "ICAO Laws and Regulations" (English). SKYbrary. Retrieved March 4, 2026.

  ９. Flight Recorder Speaks: Engineers Take on the Truth Behind the Japan Airlines Flight 123 　

      Crash. ISBN 9798312757132

 

External Link

• Association to Uncover the Truth Behind the Japan Airlines Flight 123 Crash

• Touko Aoyama Official Website: The Truth Behind the Japan Airlines Flight 123 Crash - Pursuing the Truth Behind the Japan Airlines Flight 123 Crash Incident - The Beginning of a Historic Trial​

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