Kozo Okamoto

Kōzō Okamoto
Kōzō Okamoto (left) and Fusako Shigenobu, leader of the Japanese Red Army at a press conference
Born	(1947-12-07) December 7, 1947 (age 69) Kumamoto, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Known for	Japanese Red Army

Kōzō Okamoto (岡本 公三, Okamoto Kōzō^?, born in Kumamoto, Japan, on December 7, 1947) is a Japanese former communist militant and member of the Japanese Red Army (JRA).

Okamoto was a 24-year-old botany student from a middle-class family when he was recruited to the Japanese Red Army. He was later detained in Lebanon. During his stay in Lebanon, Okamoto converted to Islam. He is wanted by the government of Japan for his activities with the Red Army, and was imprisoned by Israel for his involvement in the Lod Airport massacre.

On May 30, 1972, Kōzō Okamoto along with Yasuyuki Yasuda, and Tsuyoshi Okudaira, arrived at Israel's Lod Airport in Tel Aviv, via Air France Flight 132 from Rome. After disembarking from the plane the three members of the JRA proceeded to the baggage claim area. Upon retrieving their luggage, they took out automatic weapons packed inside the suitcases and opened fire on other passengers in the baggage claim area.

The attack was a joint operation of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – External Operations (PFLP-EO), and the Japanese Red Army. The idea behind the joint effort was for the JRA to carry out attacks for the PLFP, and vice versa, in order to reduce suspicion. The plan worked, as Okamoto and his comrades attracted little attention prior to their attack.

They killed 26 people and injured 71 others. Yasuyuki Yasuda was accidentally shot dead by one of the other attackers. Tsuyoshi Okudaira was killed by one of his own grenades, either due to accidental premature explosion or as a suicide. Kōzō Okamoto was wounded and captured trying to escape the terminal. The attack became known as the Lod Airport massacre