Interpreter still vexed over Tel Aviv attack / Ishida helped Israeli police in questioning Okamoto in '72

Tomoo Ishida, a professor emeritus at the University of Tsukuba, speaks during an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun in Ibaraki Prefecture in April. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

It was 50 years ago on May 30 that three Japanese Red Army members opened fire with automatic weapons at Lod international airport in Tel Aviv, killing or wounding about 100 people.

Looking back on the incident in an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun, Tomoo Ishida, who served as the interpreter during the subsequent interrogations, recalled the anger he felt listening to one of the terrorists try to justify such a ruthless act.