"My parents named me after the month of a certain political action," explains May Shigenobu. "But in Japanese I am known as Mei, which means 'life.' " The specific political operation to which she is referring? The bombing by Japanese leftwing radicals of Lod Airport in Tel Aviv on May 30, 1972.
May was born in Beirut in 1973 to Fusako Shigenobu, the founder of the Japanese Red Army, and a Palestinian resistance fighter. "I can't tell you his name or where he is, for security's sake."
After 26 years of living in the Mideast, where she and her comrades sought to realize Japanese solidarity with the Palestinian people and the Arab cause, Fusako Shigenobu was arrested last November in Osaka. "Of course she wishes it had never happened. But she knew there was a good chance she'd be caught. She's realistic, aware of changes in the world, the weakening of security."