PERU

Japan urges Peru to give disgraced former President Fujimori a fair trial

BY MARI YAMAGUCHI

Associated Press

TOKYO -- Japan said it asked Peru on Monday to ensure a fair trial for Peru's disgraced ex-president Alberto Fujimori, who was being tried on murder and kidnapping charges in the South American country.

Fujimori -- who also holds Japanese citizenship -- was on trial accused of bribery, misuse of government funds and sanctioning death squad killings during his decade-long rule, which ended in 2000.

Peru's President Alan Garcia was in Japan on a three-day visit to discuss trade, environment and other international and bilateral issues.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda told Garcia during talks in Tokyo that he hoped Fujimori would get a fair trial, a Foreign Ministry statement said.

Fujimori's trial began in December.

Fukuda said he hoped Fujimori would ''be treated fairly and given judicial judgment through an appropriate procedure,'' the ministry said. In response, Garcia promised to ensure an ``objective and fair trial.''

Fujimori unsuccessfully ran in Japan's parliamentary elections in July as a candidate from a small opposition party.

During Monday's talks, Fukuda and Garcia also agreed to cooperate to step up efforts to deal with climate change and to start talks aimed at establishing a free trade accord.

Japan signed a 22.1 billion yen (US$230 million; euro146 million) low-interest loan package for Peru's economic development and pledged 785 million yen (US$8.2 million; euro5.2 million) in disaster relief following a deadly earthquake in August.

Garcia was the first Peruvian leader to visit Tokyo since 1999 after nearly a decade of chilly relations due to Japan's refusal to hand over Fujimori.

The former president fled to Tokyo in 2000 and lived there until 2005 when he voluntarily traveled to Chile, apparently in the hope of launching a political comeback in neighboring Peru.

Fujimori was extradited to Lima last year after nearly two years under house arrest in Chile.