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Japan's ambassador to Peru forced out
Handling of hostage crisis criticized
May 13, 1997
Web posted at: 9:28 a.m. EDT (1328 GMT)TOKYO (CNN) -- Japan's ambassador to Peru resigned Tuesday, taking blame for the 127-day hostage siege at his residence in Lima.
"I am painfully aware of my responsibility," Morihisa Aoki told a parliamentary committee investigating the December 17 takeover of the residence by Peruvian rebels.
Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda told the committee he would accept Aoki's resignation.
"We have heard yet again Ambassador Morihisa Aoki's desire to step down and after considering many things, we have decided to ask him to leave the post," Ikeda said.
Tupac Amaru rebels stormed Aoki's Lima residence during a private reception honoring Emperor Akihito's birthday, initially taking more than 500 hostages. Most were released in the coming weeks, but 72 hostages -- including Aoki -- remained on April 22 when Peruvian commandos raided the residence during the rebels' daily soccer game.
All 14 rebels, two commandos and one hostage were killed.
After being freed, Aoki returned to Tokyo and said he wanted to go back to Lima. But he came under sharp criticism for the lax security at his residence, and his behavior after the crisis was over.
The Japanese press said he showed bad manners for chain- smoking during a news conference, while other critics said he was not sufficiently apologetic. And recently, popular weekly magazines in Japan have reported that former hostages complained Aoki was a coward who treated them rudely and arrogantly.
Aoki defended his security measures, saying that Peruvian authorities had told him "the terrorists were inactive."
"I deeply apologize for the pain the hostages suffered during the crisis and especially for the deaths of the two military officers and the hostage," Aoki said Tuesday. "I especially feel responsible for the fact that we did not give enough concern to the possibility that the reception could become a terrorist target."
But Aoki was clearly not responsible for making the Japanese a specific target of the rebels, and some worry that they still are.
"Japanese have a record of giving into terrorist demands with ransom money," said analyst John Neuffer. "It's still open season on international businessmen and diplomats."
Tokyo is taking a first step toward correcting the problem, however. The government is considering a joint unit between police and the Self Defense Force to guard against future terrorist attacks.
Correspondent Karuna Shinsho and Reuters contributed to this report.
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