100 Stories1996 Peruvian Embassy Hostage Crisis

In Asahi Kasei's 100year history, there have been many good events, but also some startling incidents. For example, the hostage crisis at the Peruvian embassy in 1996.

The incident occurred during the night of December 17. Revolutionary activists (the MRTA) suddenly stormed into the official residence of the Japanese embassy in Lima, Peru's capital, and occupied it. At that time, a reception was being held at the official residence to celebrate the emperor's birthday, and about 600 people, including Peruvian government officials and expatriates of Japanese companies, had gathered there.

An Asahi Kasei employee was also in attendance. It was Hideo Nozaki, who had been transferred from the Explosives Division to work as president of a local subsidiary. Nozaki, who would later receive the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette for his contribution to building friendly economic relations between Japan and Peru over a 40-year period as a former president of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was held hostage by the terrorists.

As soon as Asahi Kasei heard the news, it sprang into action. As well as dispatching Asahi Kasei's U.S. representative to the region to handle the situation, the company contacted the military through the channels of employees it had hired at Química Sol. Amidst difficult negotiations, and persuaded the terrorists to release the hostages at an early stage. Nozaki was held captive for 10 days, but was safely released, thanks in part to the military's efforts.

Playing a behind-the-scenes role in the effort to free them was Rui Yamanaka, then head of Public Relations. The public relations departments of the companies with hostages being held were busy dealing with the media in Japan, and the response was largely divided into two parts.
Either they would release the names of the hostages as requested by the media, or they would stubbornly refuse to do so.

If they ignored the media's requests, they would lose the trust they had carefully built up over the years. However, after much deliberation, Yamanaka stubbornly chose not to release this information to the public.

His decision paid off, and helped in the release of Nozaki. The companies that chose to go public, were soon reported in the Peruvian media, and the hostage's identity was immediately passed on to the terrorists. The terrorists decided that they could take a ransom for the hostages from major Japanese companies. Ransom negotiations were difficult, and Japanese nationals from companies that took the path of information disclosure were not released until the very end.

However, because Asahi Kasei did not disclose information despite criticism by the media, Nozaki's identity was not known and he was not recognized as a Japanese company official. This led to his early release.

The desire to put Nozaki's life above all else bore fruit.
Nozaki, the hostage, described in a slow and steady tone what happened when he was taken into custody.

“When the terrorists entered the official residence with gunshots, as a professional in the field of chemistry, I immediately knew that the shots were from blanks. In hindsight, I responded in many calm and collected ways”

In fact, in April of the year following this incident, all of the terrorists were shot dead by special forces sent by then Peruvian President Fujimori.

It was the largest and final terrorist incident involving Asahi Kasei employees in 100 years. In response to an unforeseen difficulty that no one had imagined, every department worked together to help retrieve the hostages and saved the employees by adhering to their own beliefs.

Hostages forming a line and exiting the Japanese Embassy. April 22, 1997 [Jiji Press].
https://www.jijiphoto.jp/dpscripts/help_jp/charge.html