Japanese Red Army member dies in Lebanon

Former Japanese Red Army operative Kozo Okamoto, the sole survivor of the three‑person unit that participated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in the 1972 Lod Airport attack, died in the southern suburbs of Beirut at age 78. The 1972 assault killed 26 people, including Americans, Israelis, and a Canadian, and wounded dozens. Captured and sentenced to life, Okamoto was released in 1985 as part of a prisoner‑exchange with Israel and subsequently granted political asylum in Lebanon, where he lived under PFLP protection.

His death was announced by the PFLP on 23 July 2026, prompting condolences from Palestinian groups and Hezbollah, which hailed him as a revolutionary symbol. A funeral procession in Beirut featured his body draped in a Palestinian flag. Japanese authorities, who had repeatedly requested his extradition, were denied by Lebanese courts.