FOUNDER of the revolutionary Japanese Red Army Fusako Shigenobu was freed from prison on Saturday after serving nearly 22 years behind bars on a string of terror-related charges. 

“I feel strongly that I have finally come out alive,” she told crowds of supporters as she was welcomed by her daughter Mei in the capital Tokyo.  

“I apologise for the inconvenience my arrest has caused to so many people,” Ms Shigenobu told reporters. “It’s half a century ago … but we caused harm to innocent people who were strangers to us by putting our struggle first, such as by hostage-taking.”