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Japan to reject Fujimori's return
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Japan is set to reject a request from Peru for Tokyo to extradite former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori so he can stand trial in Lima. Fujimori left for Japan in November 2000 after a corruption scandal involving his former security chief who is now in jail. Fujimori tried to resign the presidency by sending a fax from Japan, but Peru's congress did not accept it, and instead declared him morally unfit to govern. Peru wants Fujimori to face charges of murder, serious injury and forced disappearance in the cases of 25 people allegedly killed by paramilitary death squads in the early 1990s. Fujimori's Japanese citizenship and a lack of an extradition treaty between the two countries have shielded him from all previous extradition attempts. Japan says its nationals should be subject to Japanese law. Following Peru's formal request for Fujimori's return on Thursday, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda indicated Tokyo's stance would not change. "As we have repeatedly said, we will respond according to our domestic laws," Fukuda said. "In principle, we will not extradite any alleged criminals if they are Japanese citizens." Japan granted the former Peruvian leader nationality on the grounds that his parents, who emigrated to Peru where he was born, were Japanese. Earlier this week, Fujimori posted a political manifesto on his Web site, announcing the formation of a new political movement, "Si Cumple," in an apparent bid to return to Peru for the 2006 presidential election. "The time has come for the great Fujimorista counterattack, in order to put Peru back again in the road of order, peace, stability and progress," he wrote. In September 2001, Peru issued an international arrest warrant for Fujimori on charges of murder, serious injury and forced disappearance in the cases of 25 people allegedly killed by paramilitary death squads in the early 1990s. Japan declined Interpol's request for Fujimori's arrest and extradition in March this year. At the time, Peru's embassy said a spokesman for the Japanese government told them, there was "no compelling reason to honor it in light of domestic law."
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