Japanese Red Army

The Japanese Red Army (JRA) was a far-left militant organization founded in 1971, advocating for a global revolution and the overthrow of the Japanese government. They gained notoriety for a series of international terrorist attacks, including the Lod Airport massacre in Israel in 1972. While largely defunct since the early 2000s, the JRA is newsworthy currently due to a recent incident in France. Rima Hassan, a French Member of the European Parliament, was taken into police custody for alleged "apology of terrorism." This stemmed from a now-deleted tweet referencing a JRA terrorist involved in the 1972 Lod Airport attack. The incident highlights how historical acts of terrorism, even those committed by seemingly defunct groups, can still resonate and become relevant in contemporary political and legal contexts, particularly in discussions about terrorism and free speech.