[aynrandfreak]

They probably made the decision because they were only 4 hours away when they discovered the issue. Maybe someone on a no-fly list that wasn’t caught at first?

[SamAdams76]

"Only 4 hours away" is actually 8 hours plus for the other passengers on board. Most likely at least an hour or two more on the ground in between as the plane gets refueled and serviced.

This seems out of the ordinary for me. Wouldn't it make sense to detain the person in Tokyo so that the rest of the passengers could arrive at their destination on time?

Unless the circumstances warranted. Perhaps somebody high profile trying to flee the country?

[cynwoody]

Maybe someone on a no-fly list that wasn’t caught at first?

That would make zero sense. A no-fly type would have plenty of time to dump the airplane before it reached either Tokyo or LA. If that were the case, it would make far more sense to have diverted the plane to Alaska or Hawaii.