Shigenobu, Fusako (1945–)

A wing of the Japanese Red Army (JRA) founded by Fusako Shigenobu was responsible for a series of terrorist attacks, including a 1972 attack on Ben-Gurion Airport (Lod Airport) in Tel Aviv.

Fusako Shigenobu was an active student member of the JRA in the 1960s. A radical leftist group, it wanted to drive out the democratic government and end American involvement in the country so that Japan could become a communist state. The group split into several factions, and in 1971 Shigenobu and a handful of followers went to Lebanon to join forces with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

The early actions of Shigenobu's faction included kidnappings, murders, and hijackings, mostly on behalf of the PFLP. The deadliest attack was a machine gun and grenade attack at Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv in 1972. The JRA killed 26 people, including 16 Americans. Then, in 1974, the JRA invaded the French Embassy in The Hague, took the French ambassador and 10 others hostage, and [Page 333]demanded the release of several incarcerated Red Army Members. Shigenobu was thought to be the mastermind of the plan, causing authorities to add her to the international “wanted” list.

The JRA was responsible for many terrorist attacks in the 1970s and 80s. These include but are not limited to the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Kuala Lumpur in 1975, the hijacking of a flight bound from Japan to Paris in 1977, and the seizure of the U.S. and British embassies in Rome in 1987. The activities and strength of the JRA decreased in the 1990s due to the fall of the Soviet Union, the advancements made toward peace in the Middle Eastern conflict, and the capture of many members.

By the late 1990s, police had been tipped off that Shigenobu had returned to Japan and was consorting with other members of the group to strengthen their support bases. On November 8, 2000, fifty-five-yearold Shigenobu was finally apprehended in Osaka, Japan, and brought to Tokyo for trial. In a statement made from prison, she proclaimed that she would continue to pursue the goals of the JRA but through a legitimate political party instead of a terrorist organization.