Sole survivor of 1972 Lod Airport attack, Japanese Red Army member Kozo Okamoto, dies in Beirut

Kozo Okamoto, a member of the Japanese Red Army and the only surviving perpetrator of the 1972 Lod Airport attack, has died in Beirut at the age of 78. His death was announced by the Palestinian Popular Liberation Front (PFLP), an organization that had supported him for many years, citing prolonged health problems.

Known within the PFLP as "Ahmad el-Yabani," or "Japanese Ahmad," Okamoto had settled in Lebanon after his release from an Israeli prison and rarely appeared in public. He was a participant in the May 30, 1972, armed assault at Tel Aviv's international airport. According to Associated Press reports from the time, Okamoto and two accomplices arrived in Tel Aviv on a flight from Europe. They emerged from the plane, opened fire with rifles and hand grenades concealed in their luggage, killing 26 people and wounding dozens more.

Okamoto's two Japanese accomplices were killed during the attack, while he was wounded and captured. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in Israel, serving 12 years before his release in 1985 as part of an exchange of prisoners between Israel and Palestinian groups. He then moved to Lebanon, where he lived until his death and was granted political asylum by Lebanese authorities in 2000.

“

He remained loyal to the Palestinian cause and did not compromise on his principles.

The Japanese Red Army, an ultra-leftist militant group founded in 1971, was linked to Palestinian groups and claimed responsibility for various attacks and hijackings in different countries. The 1972 Lod Airport attack was a joint operation between the PFLP and the Japanese Red Army. Okamoto's last public appearance was reportedly at a ceremony in Beirut in May 2022, marking the 50th anniversary of the attack.

Lebanon had previously detained Okamoto and four other Japanese nationals in 1997 for residing illegally. While four were extradited to Japan in 2000, Okamoto became the first to receive political asylum in Lebanon. Japan's government repeatedly requested his extradition over the years, but Beirut rejected these requests. During his trial in Lebanon, Okamoto described himself as an "Arab resistance fighter."

“

The 1972 airport attack was intended as retaliation for Israel's commando raid on Beirut International Airport in 1968.