Posted on 06/30/2007 4:30:47 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Fujimori to run for office in Japan as trial in Peru looms
by Harumi Ozawa
Thu Jun 28, 4:31 AM ET
Peru's ex-president Alberto Fujimori has announced he will run for office in Japan in another bizarre twist to the career of the former strongman who is under house arrest in Chile.
Fujimori, who holds both Japanese and Peruvian citizenship, confirmed late Wednesday he would stand in the July 29 elections for the upper house as a candidate of a tiny political party.
The move is seen by critics as an attempt to thwart extradition efforts by Peru to bring him to trial on corruption charges, but the former president insisted his aim was to serve the Japanese people.
"I will run as a candidate ... to work on Asian diplomacy, North Korean issues and to ensure Japan's safety," Fujimori said by phone during a press conference held by the People's New Party.
The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan revealed that Fujimori had approached them about running on their ticket, but they had declined.
Fujimori's announcement sparked speculation in Peru that he decided to run for office as a way to avoid trial for crimes allegedly committed while he was president, since he could qualify for immunity from prosecution if elected.
It also raised eyebrows in Japan, where Fujimori lived for just five years.
"It makes me wonder what intentions he has when somebody who has made no commitment at all to Japanese politics suddenly announces he will run in a national election," said Kazuo Shii of the Japanese Communist Party.
But the acting chief of the People's New Party, Shizuka Kamei, dismissed suggestions that Fujimori had decided to run for office to avoid trial in Peru.
"I believe he made the decision with strong feelings for Japan," he said, adding that Fujimori deserved recognition for his strong leadership during the Japanese embassy hostage crisis in Lima in 1997.
A band of Peruvian rebels seized hundreds of government officials and businessmen. After a four-month siege, Fujimori's commandos stormed the building and freed all the hostages, except one, and killed all the militants.
"We don't see many people like him any more in Japan," Kamei said. "He is the last samurai."
As president of Peru, Fujimori was widely credited with taming economic chaos and subduing the country's violent Maoist Shining Path insurgency.
Critics say, however, that in the process he crushed civil liberties, rigged elections and committed human rights abuses, including murder.
Some Peruvian lawmakers were shocked by Fujimori's bid to become a Japanese lawmaker.
Aldo Estrada, of the Nationalist Party, said Fujimori was "making a mockery of the Peruvian justice system," while the country's top union leader, Manuel Cortes, called Fujimori a "coward" and a "traitor."
Political analysts said Fujimori might struggle to win enough votes to secure a seat, although his chances are helped by the fact he will be running on a proportional representation ticket.
"He showed a side like the last samurai perhaps by rescuing Japanese captives, which appealed to the patriotic sentiment of the Japanese," said Takehiko Yamamoto, professor of international politics at Waseda University.
But he added: "Fujimori is a figure of the past and has a dark image too."
Fujimori, 68, moved to Japan in 2000 when news of rampant corruption in Peru prompted him to flee, resigning the presidency by fax from a Tokyo hotel.
Born in Peru of Japanese parents, the Japanese government granted him citizenship, refusing Peru's demand for his extradition.
After five years of exile in Japan, Fujimori unexpectedly arrived in Chile in November 2005, hoping to run in Peru's 2006 presidential election, which led to his arrest in Santiago and prolonged trial with the Chilean justice.
Japan's government said being under house arrest overseas would not prevent someone running in the election, but even so some analysts doubted his chances.
"Fujimori is like a celebrity candidate. Maybe it creates a little bit of media buzz," said Professor Jeffrey Kingston at Temple University in Tokyo.
"But what does Fujimori know about the situation in Japan? It brings a bit of necessary attention to a small party, but I don't know if it's going to help them with many votes," he said.
Ping!
“As president of Peru, Fujimori was widely credited with taming economic chaos and subduing the country’s violent Maoist Shining Path insurgency.”
Yeah he killed people... if you want to call them that. Commies.
Japan's government said being under house arrest overseas would not prevent someone running in the election, but even so some analysts doubted his chances.
Am I reading this right? He's not even in Japan?
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