mytest
Uh… Blog, I checked the date on this to make sure the article isn’t dated early April. It’s probably the most ludicrous thing I’ll see all year. (JUNE 28 UPDATE BELOW)
Alberto Fujimori, former president of Peru and wanted by Peru to stand trial for suspected crimes during his corrupt administration (which he resigned from by faxing his resignation from a Tokyo hotel room, then spent five years in Japan as a sudden citizen (in a country which rarely even grants refugee status, let alone citizenship easily) evading extradition, then ran back to Chile to try and stand election again in Peru (writing his citizenship down as “Peruvian” when he deplaned, even though Japan doesn’t allow dual nationality) where he’s currently under house arrest, using the Chilean court system to mark time in South America), has now…
are you ready for this?…
been asked by Kamei Shizuka (one of the more fatheaded former LDP gorillas, now clearly even more so) to stand for election in Japan!!
I had to rub my eyes quite a few times this morning, but the Mainichi reports as such below.
It’s times like these I wish oak staves were part of the political process, so we could pound one through the heart of these political vampires and keep him properly undead.
See what I have against Fujimori (not the least a bypasser of the quite difficult procedure of naturalization, which I went through; it took years) starting from this link:
The Mainichi article follows. Thanks to David Anderson for notification. Arudou Debito in Sapporo
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Ex-Peruvian President Fujimori asked to run in Japan elections
Mainichi Daily News, June 19, 2007
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070619p2a00m0na025000c.html
A Japanese opposition party has asked former Peruvian President Albert Fujimori, who also has Japanese citizenship, to run in coming parliamentary elections, media reports said Tuesday.
Fujimori is currently in Chile, where he is under house arrest.
Peru wants to try the 68-year-old Fujimori on charges including bribery, misuse of government funds and sanctioning death squad killings during his decade-long rule that ended in 2000.
The People’s New Party, a minor Japanese party with 10 lawmakers, asked Fujimori earlier this year to run in elections for the upper house of parliament, to be held in July, Kyodo News agency reported.
An aide to Shizuka Kamei, one of the party’s senior lawmakers, went to Chile on Monday to meet Fujimori but the former president has not made his position clear, the agency said. Nippon Television Network carried a similar report.
Officials at the party as well as the Peruvian Embassy in Tokyo could not immediately confirm the report.
Fujimori spent five years in exile in Japan after fleeing Peru as his government collapsed under a corruption scandal. The Japanese government determined in 2000 that the ousted leader holds Japanese citizenship after Tokyo confirmed Fujimori’s birth was registered with a local Japanese consulate in Peru and he had never renounced his Japanese citizenship.
Despite the allegations, he is well received among the Japanese for his handling of a 1996 hostage crisis in Peru. As president, he ordered the daring raid that freed 24 Japanese captives from the hands of guerrillas who had taken over the Japanese ambassador’s residence.
In November 2005, Fujimori flew to Chile as part of an apparent bid to launch a political comeback in neighboring Peru. Chile has held Fujimori under house arrest for six months.
Fujimori was freed last year on the condition he not leave Chile, but earlier this month he was put back under house arrest after a Chilean prosecutor recommended his extradition to face charges of human rights abuses and corruption in his home country. (AP)
ENDS
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UPDATE JUNE 28, 2007
CNN REPORTS:
Fujimori to run in Japan elections
CNN.COM, POSTED: 0232 GMT (1032 HKT), June 27, 2007
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/06/27/fujimori.japan.ap/index.html
Thanks to Chad for notifying me.
TOKYO, Japan (AP) — Disgraced Peruvian ex-President Alberto Fujimori has decided to run for Japan’s upper house of parliament in July despite being under house arrest in Chile, the head of a Japanese party said Thursday.
Shizuka Kamei, head of the People’s New Party, said Fujimori told him in a phone conversation that he had accepted a request from the party to run in the elections.
“I will run as a proportional representational candidate for the People’s New Party to work for Asian diplomacy, the North Korea problem and the safety of the Japanese public,” Kamei quoted Fujimori as saying.
Kamei said he wanted Fujimori — who holds Japanese citizenship — to make use of his “knowledge, rich experience and reputation for our country’s politics.”
“I strongly hope Mr. Fujimori, as the last samurai, to add vigor to today’s Japanese society, which lacks courage, confidence and benevolence,” he said.
It was not immediately clear what constituency he would run for or whether he would be eligible as a candidate.
Fujimori, 68, is under house arrest in Chile after flying there in November 2005 as part of an apparent bid to launch a political comeback in Peru. Peru wants him to stand trial on charges including bribery, misuse of government funds and sanctioning death squad killings during his decadelong rule that ended in 2000.
The PNP plans to ask the Foreign Ministry and the Japanese government to help ensure Fujimori can engage in electoral activities, Kamei said. Kamei added that he did not see any problem with Fujimori running in the race.
No regulations under Japan’s Public Offices Election Law prohibit a candidate under house arrest overseas from running in an election in Japan, Internal Affairs Ministry official Tetsuya Kikuchi said.
The PNP, a minor Japanese party with 10 lawmakers, asked Fujimori earlier this year to run in the parliamentary elections, to be held July 29. He had been expected to give his answer later in the week.
Peruvian Congressman Juan Carlos Eguren of the opposition National Unity party accused Fujimori of trying to escape Chilean and Peruvian justice.
“The judicial process must continue and we think that the extradition process will end with a ruling forcing Fujimori to return to Peru,” he said.
Fujimori spent five years in exile in Japan after fleeing Peru as his government collapsed under a corruption scandal. The Japanese government determined in 2000 that he holds Japanese citizenship after Tokyo confirmed Fujimori’s birth was registered with a Japanese consulate in Peru and he had never renounced his Japanese citizenship.
Despite the allegations, he is well-received in Japan for his handling of a 1996 hostage crisis in Peru. As president, he ordered the daring raid that freed 24 Japanese captives held by guerrillas who had taken over the Japanese ambassador’s residence.
Fujimori was freed last year on the condition he not leave Chile, but earlier this month he was put back under house arrest after a Chilean prosecutor recommended his extradition to face charges of human rights abuses and corruption in his home country. (Full story at http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/06/08/chile.fujimori/index.html)
The nonbinding recommendation must still be ruled on by the judge, a process that could take several months.
ENDS