Fujimori holds a press conference in front of the embassy after the resolution of the Japanese embassy hostage crisis, April 22, 1997, Lima. (©AP via Kyodo)
Peru's former president, Alberto Fujimori, passed away on September 11 at the age of 86. The Japanese-Peruvian politician served as president from 1990 to 2000. On September 11, his eldest daughter, Keiko, announced her father's passing on X (formerly Twitter): "After a long battle with cancer, my father has passed away."
A memorial service was held on September 12 at the National Museum in Lima. Attendees included his family, Peru's President Dina Boluarte, cabinet ministers, and members of Congress. The public also paid their respects at the open casket.
Born in July 1938 in Lima to parents from Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, Fujimori is remembered for laying the foundation for Peru's development, reviving an economy on the brink of collapse, and defeating left-wing guerrilla groups. However, he also became notorious for his authoritarian methods and was imprisoned for human rights violations.
The following is a reflection on this formidable yet polarizing figure by Yoshiro Toriumi, a senior advisor for the Nippon Foundation who interviewed Fujimori during his presidency.
The Bulletproof Vest
When I think of Alberto Fujimori, I can't help but picture him in a bulletproof vest.
In 1997, the leftist extremist group Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) took hostages at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Peru. The final hostages were freed after 126 days, on April 22, 1997.
When Peruvian Armed Forces commandos rescued them, then-President Fujimori immediately appeared at the scene. He had been personally directing the operation from a nearby house. Dressed in a bulletproof vest with his shirt sleeves rolled up, he raised his fist in victory alongside the commandos.
This powerful image was witnessed by The Sankei Shimbun reporters, who had set up in a nearby apartment. It was shocking for many in Japan, a country that had become dimmed by peace, to see a president directly confronting terrorism.
Japan-Peru Relations
Fujimori was at the height of his political career at this time. Just three months after the hostage crisis, he visited Japan and secured a ¥40 billion JPY loan from the Japanese government. It was a shrewd diplomatic move — 24 of the rescued hostages were Japanese nationals.
He also inspired the Japanese government and private sector to pay closer attention to developing nations in South America. During his administration, the Nippon Foundation made its first major investment in building schools in Peru. With a total grant of ¥1.4 billion, the country built 50 schools between 1993 and 1997.
Ayako Sono, a novelist who chaired the Nippon Foundation for 9.5 years until June 2005, recalls: "Fujimori immediately arranged for a presidential helicopter when I expressed a desire to personally inspect how the grant money was being used in the remote Andes. These unannounced inspections were proof of transparency in how the grants were used."
Downfall and Imprisonment
I deeply regret the tragic downfall of Fujimori in his later years. His 10-year presidency came to an abrupt and scandalous end in November 2000 when the Peruvian Congress dismissed him after a bribery scandal involving his close associates came to light.
After that, Fujimori spent five years in de facto exile in Japan before ultimately being extradited to Peru via Chile. In January 2010, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his involvement in human rights violations, including murder.
During his presidency, I interviewed Fujimori three times. But I also met him shortly before he left Japan. The former president drove himself to the hotel where we conducted the interview. There, he made no secret of his desire to run in the next presidential election, which was scheduled for the following year. "My return will restore Peru's trust," he confidently declared.
However, the unprecedented scandal caused by his confidants was so grave that it overshadowed all his past achievements.
A Complex Legacy
During a business trip to South America in October 2022, Takeju Ogata, the Nippon Foundation's current president, visited Fujimori. The latter was being held at a Peru National Police facility on the eastern outskirts of Lima.
Fujimori told Ogata that doctors had given him five years to live due to a respiratory illness. He explained that this was why he spent five to six hours a day working on his autobiography at his computer.
Fujimori embodied the diligent, patient, and enduring qualities of the Japanese people, but he also possessed a pragmatic realism that is rare among Japanese. That image of him in the bulletproof vest will remain etched in my memory forever.
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(Read Yoshiro Toriumi's reflections in Japanese.)
Author: Yoshiro Toriumi, a former foreign correspondent (retired) and guest columnist for The Sankei Shimbun and a senior advisor at the Nippon Foundation.
Contributions from The Sankei Shimbun and Kyodo are also reflected in this story.
