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Japan Regrets Release of Okamoto

May 22, 1985
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Israel today underwent the painful and humiliating experience of being lectured to by a foreign country about the evils and dangers of surrendering to Palestinian terrorists’ blackmail.

The Ambassador of Japan, Shozo Kadota, called on the Director-General of the Foreign Ministry, David Kimche, to inform Israel of his country’s “regret” over the release of Kozo Okamoto, who killed 27 people in a terror attack at Ben Gurion Airport in 1972.

(Okamoto arrived in Libya from Geneva today and reportedly collapsed at the airport and was taken to a hospital.)

Kimche, in response, said Israel itself “regretted that its action had “caused concern and unease in Tokyo. This was certainly not Israel’s intention …. Israel had no choice in light of its humanitarian effort to secure the release of its three prisoners ….”

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