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Founder of Japan terror group behind deadly 1972 attack on Israel airport set free | ||||
2022-05-29 | ||||
[IsraelTimes] Fusako Shigenobu, draped in keffiyah, apologizes for hurting innocents; 3 Japanese Red Army members recruited by Paleostinian terrorists, killed 8 Israelis, 16 tourists Fusako Shigenobu, who co-founded the terrorist group Japanese Red Army,
She was freed just two days before the 50th anniversary of the terror group’s deadly attack at Lod Airport that killed 26 people and injured dozens of others.
"I have hurt innocent people I did not know by putting our struggles first. Although those were different times, I would like to take this opportunity to apologize deeply," said Shigenobu, who was draped in a keffiyeh — the Arab headdress which has become a symbol of Paleostinian nationalism. Shigenobu was convicted of criminal masterminding the 1974 siege of the French Embassy in the Hague, the Netherlands. She was arrested in 2000 in Osaka in central Japan, where she had been in hiding. The Japanese Red Army, formed in 1971 and linked with Paleostinian terror groups,
Three members of the Japanese Red Army recruited by a Paleostinian terrorist group, opened fire and threw grenades at Lod Airport, killing eight Israelis and 16 foreign tourists. The Japanese Red Army also took responsibility for several other attacks including the takeover of the US Consulate in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1975. Shigenobu was not physically present in the attacks. A year after her arrest, she declared the group dissolved. Japanese media reports said Shigenobu had undergone surgery for cancer during her incarceration. Kozo Okamoto, who was injured and arrested in the Israeli airport attack, was released in 1985 in a prisoner exchange between Israeli and Paleostinian forces. He is reportedly in ![]() Okamoto and several other members of the group are still wanted by Japanese authorities for their alleged role in attacks in the 1970s and 1980s, including the terror assault on the airport in Israel.
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China-Japan-Koreas | ||
Japanese Red Army Founder Gets 20 Years | ||
2006-02-23 | ||
![]() The Tokyo District Court found Fusako Shigenobu, 60, guilty of kidnapping and confinement, as well as attempted murder in the 1974 case, court spokesman Tomoyuki Kushida said. Shigenobu was also convicted of passport law violations. Shigenobu was arrested in western Japan in November 2000 after more than 25 years on the run, most of it in the Middle East. She had pleaded innocent to the serious charges against her. The Japanese Red Army, a violent ultra-leftist group sympathetic to Palestinian causes, was formed by Shigenobu in 1971. Its stated goal was to overthrow the Japanese government and monarchy and help foment world revolution. It took responsibility for several international attacks in the 1970s, including the takeover of the U.S. Consulate in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1975. It staged an attack on the French embassy in The Hague in 1974, in which the French ambassador and 10 other staff were taken hostage in a bid to free militants in France. The group is also suspected in the 1972 machine-gun and grenade assault on the international airport outside Tel Aviv, Israel, that killed 24 people. Shigenobu's husband died in the cross-fire.
Following her arrest in Japan, Shigenobu declared her group disbanded in 2001. Another key member is serving his life sentence in the case, with a third still trial at the Tokyo District Court. The fourth, Junzo Okudaira, remains at large. | ||
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