Politic-Economic-Society-Tech

Analysis: Japan's PR nightmare

By Japan analyst David Powers 

"It won't make any difference." 

That was Japan's initial reaction to the international arrest warrant against former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori. 

He was granted Japanese citizenship last December. 

Japan has no extradition treaty with Peru, and the government has repeatedly said it will not hand him over. 

At the same time, a note of caution can be detected. 

Chief Cabinet Spokesman Yasuo Fukuda said Japan would first have to verify the issue of the arrest warrant before deciding its response. 

A Foreign Ministry official also noted that any decision about handing over Mr Fujimori would "depend on the situation". 

Nightmare 

In fact, the situation is rapidly developing into a public relations nightmare for the Japanese. 
When Alberto Fujimori became the first ever person of Japanese descent to be elected leader of another country in 1990, the sense of joy was almost tangible in Japan. 

Even though he had been born in Peru, and could not speak a word of Japanese, he was feted as though he were "our president". 

Japanese aid poured into Peru - 400bn yen ($3.23bn) of it - over the following 10 years. 

Few questions were asked about how it was being spent, and no eyebrows were raised when Mr Fujimori's administration turned increasingly autocratic. 

As a crescendo of criticism rose inside Peru, Mr Fujimori suddenly turned up unannounced in Tokyo last November, and resigned as president. 

Then, with almost unseemly haste, he was declared eligible for Japanese citizenship a month later. 

Last month his brother-in-law, Victor Aritomi, was also granted citizenship

He served as Peru's ambassador to Japan under Mr Fujimori, and is also wanted on an international arrest warrant. 

While there is no suggestion that either man is not legally entitled to Japanese citizenship, with all the accusations flying about them - together with the lack of an extradition treaty - it simply does not look good. 

Moreover, Mr Fujimori's 88-year-old mother, Mutsue, just happens to be in Japan for medical treatment, and his daughter, Keiko, flew in to Tokyo on Friday. 

The family seems to be digging in for a long battle. 

Safe - for now 

Under Japanese law, a person must be charged with a crime punishable by at least three years in prison to be considered for extradition. 

Currently Mr Fujimori is charged only with dereliction of duty, a relatively minor charge that carries a maximum of two years in jail. 

So, technically speaking, Mr Fujimori is probably safe for the time being. 

But as the mass of cases against his former spymaster, Vladimir Montesinos, unfolds, more serious charges could be brought against Mr Fujimori. 

The Peruvian attorney-general has already accused Mr Montesinos of responsibility for a "horrendous" massacre by an army death squad in 1991. 

If Congress in Lima gives the go-ahead to bring murder charges against Mr Fujimori, Japan would then find itself in the unenviable position of playing host to a former head of state charged with human rights abuses. 

The precedents set by the international cases brought against General Augusto Pinochet and Slobodan Milosevic would make it very difficult for Japan to stand by its current position. 

Snail's pace 

Peru is in an equally difficult situation. 

Peruvian law does not permit defendants to be convicted in absentia, so without Mr Fujimori in court, it cannot do anything. 

Even if Mr Fujimori were to be detained under the international arrest warrant while in Japan, he would have the right to fight any attempt to send him back to Peru through the courts in Japan. 

Not only would the Japanese legal authorities want to verify that he would receive a fair trial in Peru - Japanese courts are notorious for operating at a snail's pace. 

The corruption trial against former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka and subsequent appeal dragged on for 16 years, and was brought to an end only by Mr Tanaka's death. 

The Japanese Government is almost certainly praying for a swift resolution to this embarrassing problem, but its prayers are unlikely to be answered unless Mr Fujimori surprises everyone and gets on a plane back home of his own accord. 

source: BBC news, Aug 3, 2001