Japanese Terrorist Behind 1972 Lod Airport Massacre Dies in Beirut at 78

Kozo Okamoto, the Japanese terrorist responsible for the deadly 1972 massacre at Lod Airport (now Ben Gurion Airport) in Israel, has died at age 78 in Beirut, Lebanon. Okamoto was the sole survivor of the attack in which 24 people were killed and dozens wounded. The assault was carried out by Okamoto and two other members of the Japanese Red Army in cooperation with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. On May 30, 1972, the trio arrived at Lod Airport on an Air France flight, then opened fire indiscriminately on hundreds of passengers and staff, killing civilians including new immigrants, Israeli citizens, and pilgrims from Puerto Rico.

During the attack, two of Okamoto’s accomplices were killed, while he was wounded, captured by Israeli security forces, and sentenced to life imprisonment by a military court. However, he was released after 13 years in 1985 as part of the Jibril Agreement, in which Israel freed over a thousand security prisoners in exchange for three captured IDF soldiers. After his release, Okamoto found refuge in Lebanon, where the government consistently refused Japan’s extradition requests and granted him political asylum.

Okamoto lived under the protection of terrorist organizations in the Hezbollah stronghold of the Dahieh district in Beirut, maintaining a low profile and rarely appearing in public. His last known public appearance was in May 2022 at a memorial ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the Lod massacre, where he was supported by Palestinian symbols and accompanied by militants. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine officially announced his death on Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, a day of mourning in Israel. His death closes the chapter on the last surviving member of the Japanese Red Army cell that shocked Israel and the world with their brutal attack.