Kozo Okamoto, Japanese militant behind 1972 Tel Aviv airport attack, dies at 78 in Beirut
The former Japanese Red Army member, who killed 26 people at Lod Airport in 1972, spent decades in Lebanese exile after a 1985 prisoner swap.
Death announced in Beirut
Kozo Okamoto, the Japanese militant who participated in the 1972 attack on Tel Aviv's Lod Airport, died on Thursday in Beirut at age 78. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the radical Palestinian faction that had sheltered him for decades, confirmed his death in a statement. Okamoto had been in poor health for a long time, a senior PFLP member told Jiji Press, and died around noon local time. His body will be buried near Beirut. The PFLP mourned him as a "fighter who made enormous sacrifices for the cause of Palestine." He died in the southern suburbs of Beirut, an area controlled by the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement, according to the PFLP.
His journey was marked by immense sacrifices spanning for decades on the battlefields of struggle in support of the Palestinian cause. He never compromised nor faltered but remained steadfast to his principles.
The 1972 Lod Airport massacre
On May 30, 1972, Okamoto and two other Japanese nationals arrived at Lod Airport (now Ben Gurion Airport) on an Air France flight from Europe. They retrieved rifles and grenades from their luggage and opened fire on passengers in the terminal. The attack killed 26 people and wounded dozens, with some reports saying around 100 people were killed or injured. The two accomplices died at the scene; Okamoto was wounded and captured by Israeli authorities. The operation was a joint effort between the Japanese Red Army, an ultra-leftist group formed in 1971, and the PFLP. Okamoto had left Japan in February 1972 to find a base for his activities and worked with the PFLP, according to Jiji Press. His older brother, Takeshi, had been involved in the 1970 hijacking of a Japan Airlines jet and reportedly died in North Korea.
Imprisonment and exile
Okamoto was sentenced to life in prison in Israel. He served 12 years before being freed in 1985 as part of a prisoner exchange between Israel and Palestinian guerrillas. He then gained political asylum in Lebanon, where he lived until his death. In Lebanon, he was known by the alias Ahmad al-Yabani, or "Ahmad the Japanese," and was viewed as a hero among Palestinians and Lebanese who regard Israel as an enemy. He made rare public appearances, including one in May 2022 at a Beirut cemetery to mark the 50th anniversary of the attack.
- Attack on Lod Airport kills 26 people; Okamoto wounded and captured.
- Released in prisoner exchange after 12 years in Israeli prison.
- Marks 50th anniversary of attack at Beirut cemetery.
- Dies in Beirut at age 78.
Controversy and legacy
In May 2023, Okamoto sent a message to a rally in Tokyo saying, "I am already like a Palestinian," without elaborating on the airport attack. His legacy remains contentious. In March 2026, French MEP Rima Hassan posted on X a quote attributed to Okamoto: "I devoted my youth to the Palestinian cause. As long as there is oppression, resistance will be not only a right, but a duty." The post was later deleted, and Hassan faces trial in France for apology of terrorism. The Japanese Red Army carried out several international attacks in the 1970s, including the 1975 occupation of the U.S. consulate in Kuala Lumpur. Six members of the group remain on an international wanted list, including Kunio Bando, 79, and Norio Sasaki, 77, according to Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department.
