Akihiko Saito

Akihiko Saito
Akihiko Saito
	Akihiko Saito in the mid 1980s when he was with the French Foreign Legion's 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment.
Born	January 5, 1961; Japan
Died	May 9, 2005 (aged 44); Iraq
Cause of death	Gunshot wounds sustained in a Jaish Ansar al-Sunna-planned ambush
Occupations	1st Airborne Brigade paratrooper, JGSDF (Former); ; 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment soldier, French Foreign Legion, French Army (Former); Hart Security Ltd. Security contractor;
Relatives	Hironobu Saito (brother)

Akihiko Saito (斎藤昭彦, Saitō Akihiko; January 5, 1961 – May 9, 2005) was a Japanese security specialist adviser who was captured by the Jaish Ansar al-Sunna in Iraq in 2005.

Saito's abduction and subsequent death came as a shock to the Japanese public who were surprised to find out that a former member of the Japanese Self-Defence Force was operating as a private security officer in Iraq.