[2] Prior to entering the French Foreign Legion, Akihiko served in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) in the 1st Airborne Brigade in 1979[3][4][5] before he left in 1981.

[5] Akihiko Saito had been working for Hart Security Ltd.,[8] a Cyprus-based[10] British firm as a security specialist (under contract to PWC Logistics at the Abu Ghraib Warehouse Distribution Center near Baghdad International Airport) since December 2004 until his abduction by armed Jaish Ansar al-Sunna militants.

[13] He was eventually killed by Jaish Ansar al-Sunna militants, as shown in a video released on the internet.

[14] Video of a dead body was posted online on May 27, 2005, purportedly by the group, along with Saito's identification papers and passport; his identity in the video was visually confirmed by his brother Hironobu Saito,[15] the Japanese Foreign Ministry,[16] the Japanese National Police Agency and Hart Security.

[13] His abduction fueled more opposition against the Japanese government's plans to send JSDF forces to Iraqi soil, believing that their presence would make them a terror target.