A statement Kozo Okamoto gave to police shortly after the May 80 Lydda Airport massacre was read into the record at his trial today after the court rejected defense counsel’s contention that it was invalid because it was obtained by a ruse. The three-man military tribunal accepted the prosecution’s contention that the 24-year-old Japanese “kamikaze” gunman signed the statement fully aware that the ranking Israeli officer present at his interrogation had no intention of carrying out a deal to allow him to commit suicide if he told the truth. The prosecution claimed that Okamoto was told beforehand that the agreement he made with Maj. Gen. Rehavivim Zeevi, commander of the Central Command, was null and void and that the General refused to honor it because the prisoner had, in fact, made false statements.
The statement detailed Okamoto’s career from the time he joined the fanatic “Red Army” underground organization in Japan and his training with three other Japanese “kamikaze” gunmen in Baalbeck, Lebanon. The fourth member of the assassination team was not slated to participate in the Lydda attack but was to carry out another act in Japan.
Some observers here believe that as a result of the court’s acceptance of Okamoto’s statement, the trial could end tomorrow. The prosecution said yesterday that it would waive further witnesses if the prisoner’s statement, tantamount to a confession, was accepted. Okamoto is expected to be called to the witness stand tomorrow at which time he may make another statement.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
