Fujimori interested in entering Japanese politics
( 2001-11-18 16:08 ) (7 )

Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori has asked a supporter about the requirements for entering Japanese politics, according to a weekend news report.

Fujimori had questioned one of his supporters in Japan about the nation's electoral system before the upper House of Councillors election in July, Kyodo News agency quoted the supporter as saying on Saturday.

The supporter, who asked not to be identified, reportedly said he thought the former president might want to run, although he did not do so.

"If you run, the act would be criticised as an attempt to evade extradition to Peru. You should keep a low profile for at least a year," the source was quoted as saying.

Fujimori has publicly ruled out any plans to enter Japanese politics, but he has reportedly been asked by some members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition Democratic Party to become involved in politics, Kyodo said, quoting unnamed political sources.

The disgraced ex-president has been living in self-imposed exile here since last November after a government prosecutor filed charges of homicide and kidnapping in relation to two state-sponsored massacres in the early 1990s.

A Peruvian judge issued an international arrest warrant for Fujimori in September.

The son of Japanese immigrants to Peru, Fujimori was given Japanese nationality in December and Tokyo has said repeatedly that it cannot extradite a Japanese national by law.