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TOKYO (AP) — Alberto Fujimori lives a quiet life, having traded in a beach bungalow lent by a famous novelist for a comfortable apartment in an upscale neighborhood in Tokyo.
His public profile is discreet. Rarely does he grant interviews or appear in the media.
But the disgraced former Peruvian president has found powerful backers in his ancestral homeland, including Tokyo's outspoken nationalistic governor. Even though the Japanese government is officially keeping its distance, Fujimori enjoys a safe haven among a small group of politicians and conservative public figures who consider him a hero of sorts.
``The feeling is that he deserves better than he got,'' said political analyst Takayoshi Miyagawa. ``Everybody in Japan made so much of it when he became president, but since his downfall he's been treated like a piece of unwanted baggage.''
The Peruvian government, however, wants Fujimori more than ever — a point it made when it recalled its ambassador to Tokyo for consultations on Wednesday.
Pressure has been mounting for the extradition of the 68-year-old former autocrat since Venezuelan authorities arrested his one-time spy chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, a week ago.
Montesinos is accused of spinning a vast web of corruption that controlled Peru's military, legal system and much of the media during Fujimori's 10 years in power. Since being apprehended, Montesinos has said he may hand over thousands of videos documenting dirty work he did for his former boss.
Peruvian President Valentin Paniagua urged Japan on Tuesday to return Fujimori in accordance with ``international norms.''
But Japan has no extradition treaty with Peru, and Japanese officials reiterated this week that they have no intention of sending back Fujimori, who faces charges of dereliction of duty and abandonment of office.
They were caught off guard in November when Fujimori faxed his resignation to Lima during a stopover in Tokyo and announced his intention to remain indefinitely in the country from which his parents emigrated to Peru in the 1930s.
After agonizing over whether or not to recognize him as a Japanese citizen, the government later announced that he was entitled to Japanese nationality and could stay.
The decision provoked outrage in Peru, and the Japanese government has since kept him at arm's length.
But some prominent conservative figures have shown no reservations about getting close.
Soon after arriving Fujimori was invited to stay in a seaside cottage south of Tokyo owned by Ayako Sono, a novelist who chairs a philanthropical foundation started by an industrialist linked to Japan's militaristic government before World War II.
Perhaps Fujimori's most powerful supporter is Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, an unapologetic hawk whose nationalistic rhetoric has been attacked as thinly disguised xenophobia.
According to the Japanese news media, Ishihara is letting the deposed Peruvian president use office space at his personal political headquarters and helped Fujimori move into the luxury apartment where he is said to be working on his memoirs.
Earlier this year, Ishihara was photographed at an exclusive dinner with Fujimori and about a dozen other Japanese politicians who had reportedly gathered to form a support group for their guest of honor.
Ishihara's office did not return calls inquiring about his relationship with Fujimori.
But political watchers say that the attraction for nationalists like the Tokyo governor is both simple and powerful. Fujimori's story — the son of impoverished immigrants who became the first ethnic Japanese chosen to lead another country — is almost an allegory for Japan's own unlikely rise to global prominence.
Then there's admiration for his strong-armed leadership, which Japan witnessed when Fujimori ordered a raid by commandos in 1997 to free hostages held by leftist guerrillas at the Japanese diplomatic residence in Lima.
``His supporters are the kind of people who admire force and the willingness to use it,'' said Jiro Yamaguchi, a political scientist at Hokkaido University.
Ishihara is certainly a tough talker. He was widely criticized for telling Japanese soldiers that they should be ready to mobilize against rioting by foreigners in case of an earthquake.
Fujimori's bills in Japan reportedly are being picked up by a wealthy national lawmaker who leads a tiny party known primarily for its endorsement of celebrity candidates. An aide to Dr. Torao Tokuda, who owns a chain of hospitals, confirmed that he was acquainted with Fujimori but did not give details.
Analysts characterize Tokuda as a political opportunist, and speculate that he may be supporting Fujimori simply as a favor to Ishihara.
Copyright 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
===== Kevin Dean Buffalo, NY ICQ: 8616001 http://www.yaysoft.com
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