POLITICS-JAPAN: Fujimori Case Mars Country’s Record – Activists

By Suvendrini Kakuchi Reprint | | Print |

Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, May 26 2003 (IPS) - It is high time that Tokyo looks at the case of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori beyond the issue of his Japanese citizenship to the larger issues of human rights, corruption and accountability – and Japan’s record on them, activists here say.

They have stepped up their call for Tokyo to extradite Fujimori and say Japan’s continued sheltering of the former president, accused of crime and corruption in his country, is an international disgrace for Japan.

Human rights organisations are now joining hands with their Peruvian counterparts to force the Japanese government to accept a formal extradition request that Lima is expected to file in July to get Fujimori to face charges in Peru.

Activists, including those with the Japan Network for Bringing Fujimori to Justice, hope the charges, now being translated into Japanese, will persuade Tokyo to extradite Fujimori.

Fujimori, the 64-year-old son of Japanese immigrants, resigned as Peru’s president in November 2000 and fled to Japan, where he could claim citizenship. Japan has since refused to send him back, saying Fujimori’s parents registered him in the Japanese consulate in Peru as an infant. Japanese laws do not allow the extradition of its citizens.

Just last week, the foreign ministry reiterated its official position and said the government would handle any formal extradition request from Peru through legal channels.

But ”this is a moral and ethical issue that Japan is ignoring,” says Shinsaku Nohira, member of Peace Boat, a human rights organisation that also investigates corrupt practices in Japanese aid programmes. ”Japan is not behaving as a responsible country.”

For all the outcry against him in Peru, Fujimori – for whom the Peruvian government has issued an international arrest warrant – has been leading a carefree life in Japan under the protection of his rich friends.

Fujimori is charged with massive embezzlement, murder, and kidnapping during his 10-year term as Peruvian president. He is also accused of being involved in murders committed by the military in 1991 and 1992.

But many in Japan consider him a hero for his leadership in the rescue of 72 hostages who were held in the Japanese ambassador’s residence in Lima in April 1997.

”Fujimori represents a special case in Japan,” explains Rei Shiratori, who teaches political science at Tokai University. ”The government cannot reject his request to live in Japan as he is a Japanese national, and most Japanese are grateful to him for protecting Japanese diplomats during the hostage crisis.”

Fujimori, a showpiece for Japan given his oriental ancestry and his being thrust into power in a country where he belongs to a minority group, has been invited to speak in the Diet on several occasions. Local media raved over his speaking in Japanese.

Fujimori has published a book about his life and runs a website, ‘From Tokyo’, that presents his views on Peru and his situation. The local media has speculated that he may even seek political office again in 2004.

In the website, where he lists his achievements, Fujimori writes,”I do not have any doubts that once the thirst of revenge and the political persecution disguised as justice disappear, the achievements will not be seen on a computer screen, but on the eyes of every single Peruvian instead.”

The huge discrepancy in views between Peru and Japan illustrates of the lack of information on Fujimori in Japan, activists say.

They add that Japan’s sheltering of Fujimori smacks of underhanded practices between Japanese politicians and the foreign leaders with whom they have had close connections with.

”We suspect that a lot of the millions embezzled by Fujimori is in Asia, and that includes Japan,” said Peruvian lawyer Jose Ugaz, who was visiting Tokyo to press for his extradition.

Peru became the top recipient of Japanese aid during Fujimori’s term, during which the country received more than 3 billion U.S. dollars.

But Japan’s political nearsightedness on Fujimori is leaving a blot on the country’s image and harming ties with Peru today, critics say.

Hiroo Murakoshi, a member of non-government Informational Disclosure Centre, says the Fujimori case has resulted in a poor image of Japan overseas, not least in Peru. ”The government’s refusal to send Fujimori back is jeopardising the development of correct bilateral relations between the two countries, which is important for Japan to gain respect as a world power,” says Murakoshi.

When Fujimori left Peru and as angry demonstrators in front of the Japanese embassy there demanded his extradition, Tokyo stopped contacts on official development assistance, activists recall, saying that this is a sign of how Japanese aid has been used to prop up corrupt leaders in developing countries.

Media reports in Peru pointed out that Fujimori’s successor, Alejandro Toledo, was far more interested in renewing Japanese aid rather than demanding extradition at that time.

Murakoshi’s organisation is pursuing a lawsuit filed in June 2001 against the foreign ministry, demanding information on the use of public funds in the ministry, suspecting embezzlement and wasteful spending.

Shiratori explains that the Japanese public itself is against corruption, which is why Tokyo should take heed of this in its own policies. This is why several powerful politicians have been forced to reign or spend time in jail after they have been proved guilty of illegal practices, activists say.

Lawyer Sayo Saruta of the Japan Network for Bringing Fujimori to Justice says, ”We are determined to raise public consciousness of the crimes committed by Fujimori in Peru. Through our campaign, we can force Tokyo to send him back, a clear case of people power for human rights.”

Fujimori’s former top aide and intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, now in jail for stealing millions of dollars of national money, has accused Fujimori of being involved in the embezzlement. Fujimori has denied the charges, claiming he is the target of political persecution by his opponents in Peru.