A prefectural assembly panel in Kumamoto, hometown of the parents of deposed Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, adopted a petition Thursday urging the Japanese government to provide Fujimori with its maximum support and security.
A majority of the assembly's welfare committee approved the petition, with the assembly expected to adopt it at a plenary session next Tuesday, assembly members said.
The petition states that, as Fujimori has contributed greatly to the development of Peru and has improved relations between Peru and Japan, the Japanese government should offer him as much support as possible.
The petition was first proposed by a local association committed to promoting friendship between Kumamoto Prefecture and Peru.
The decision by the Japanese government to confirm Fujimori's Japanese citizenship, thus allowing him to stay in Japan indefinitely, was greeted with outrage in Peru.
Fujimori, who is staying at the Tokyo home of Japanese novelist Ayako Sono, has ruled out returning home, where authorities want to question him on allegations that he amassed illegal funds during his time in office.
"I am staying in Japan because there is absolutely no guarantee for my personal security in Peru," he told Kyodo News in a faxed statement Wednesday.
Fujimori has been in Japan since mid-November after briefly attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Brunei.