Alberto Fujimori, the disgraced former Peruvian president and strongman who died Wednesday in Lima at age 86, had deep connections to Japan, where he lived from 2000 to 2005 to avoid extradition back to Peru over charges of corruption.

In November 2000, Fujimori, the son of Japanese immigrants, fled to Japan amid corruption charges after a close aide was caught accepting a bribe. Afterward, the Peruvian Congress stripped him of his presidency.

Peruvian authorities issued a warrant for his arrest and called for Japan to return him for trial.

But the Japanese government refused, citing the lack of an extradition treaty between the two countries, and Fujimori, who also held Japanese citizenship, became an international fugitive. In Tokyo, he was befriended by powerful figures, including right-leaning conservative Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara and lawmakers.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi expressed the Japanese government’s condolences to Fujimori’s family on Thursday, praising his efforts to strengthen Japan-Peru relations but also commenting on his controversial legacy.

“Japan will never forget the efforts made by Fujimori and other Peruvian officials during the occupation of the Japanese ambassador's official residence in 1996, which resulted in the release of the hostages, without succumbing to terrorism,” Hayashi said.

“On the other hand, I acknowledge that there are various opinions on the fact that former President Fujimori was convicted of human rights violations during his term of office and had served time in prison,” he added.

In November 2005, Fujimori suddenly left Japan and turned up in Chile, where he was arrested on corruption and human rights abuse charges in Peru, which had stepped up international pressure to have him returned for trial.

His goal had been to eventually return to Peru and once again be president.

Fujimori became widely known to the Japanese public when, as Peruvian president, he took charge after left-wing rebels stormed into the Japanese ambassador’s residence in Lima in December 1996, holding nearly 700 people hostage. After a rescue operation four months later ended the hostage crisis, there was a sense in Japan that Fujimori was a hero.
Fujimori became widely known to the Japanese public when, as Peruvian president, he took charge after left-wing rebels stormed into the Japanese ambassador’s residence in Lima in December 1996, holding nearly 700 people hostage. After a rescue operation four months later ended the hostage crisis, there was a sense in Japan that Fujimori was a hero. | AFP-JIJI

But the quixotic Fujimori, while still under arrest in Chile, also ran for a seat in Japan’s 2007 Upper House election as a member of the small opposition nationalist party Kokumin Shinto (People’s New Party), which has since been disbanded. He finished fourth in that election, with about 52,000 votes.

Fujimori became widely known to the Japanese public when, as Peruvian president, he took charge after left-wing rebels stormed into the Japanese ambassador’s residence in Lima in December 1996, holding nearly 700 people hostage.

In April 1997, after four months, Peruvian forces conducted a rescue operation and ended the hostage crisis. The incident was widely televised in Japan, with Tokyo commending Fujimori for saving all but one of the hostages — a Peruvian judge.

The incident prompted a sense in Japan that Fujimori was a hero, feelings that also played a role in the Japanese government’s later refusal to grant Peru’s extradition request after he fled to Tokyo.