Peru formally asked Japan yesterday to extradite its disgraced former president, Alberto Fujimori, to face criminal charges including murder and kidnapping.
But Japan, which has no extradition treaty with the Latin American nation and considers Fujimori a Japanese citizen, signalled it was likely to reject the demand.
Peruvian ambassador Luis Machiavello handed over a 700-page, 5cm thick document detailing the requests to a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Japan would deal with the request "in line with domestic law," indicating it would probably not hand over the disgraced former leader.
"The final decision will be made by the justice minister, but in general, when a fugitive criminal has Japanese citizenship, we do not extradite," he added.
Peru has been hoping Japan will make an exception because of the nature of the charges.
Fujimori, who fled to Japan in November 2000 amid a corruption scandal, is considered a Japanese citizen because his parents registered him with consular authorities as an infant.
A Peruvian Foreign Ministry statement spoke of "serious violations against human rights" and said the charges against him included murder, kidnapping and inflicting grievous wounds.
"The courts ask for the extradition of a Peruvian citizen, who has exercised continuously and publicly his Peruvian nationality," the statement added.
Fujimori enjoys celebrity status in Japan, where he is remembered as the heroic rescuer of hostages held at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima six years ago. He currently lives in an upscale Tokyo neighborhood.
The extradition file, originally approved in June 2002, was held up for months over a contract dispute with the translator.
Peruvian Foreign Minister Allan Wagner, speaking in Lima, urged Tokyo to act with haste, saying the extradition request complied with the three requirements set by international law: there was sufficient proof of guilt, the charges against the accused were crimes in both countries, and there was a guarantee of due process.
"We hope the extradition is granted. If it is not, the Peruvian government ... will take the case to the international jurisdictions necessary until the goal, Mr. Fujimori's appearance before the courts, is obtained," Wagner said.
The murder charges against the former president stem from two massacres during his war on the Maoist rebel group the Shining Path.
Prosecutors accuse Fujimori of authorizing a military death squad to kill 15 suspected leftist guerrillas in 1991 and nine students and a professor at the La Cantuta University in 1992.
He denies these and a slew of corruption charges, saying they are a ploy by his political enemies and that he would not get a fair trial if he returned.
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