In Memory: Former President Alberto Fujimori of Peru and Japan
CHINO Keiko / Freelance Journalist
December 9, 2024
Alberto Fujimori, who became the first president of Japanese descent in Latin America of Peru in July 1990, passed away at age 86 on September 11, 2024. He lived a turbulent life that went through heaven and hell, the apex of power and the abyss of despair.
Evaluating his presidency is not easy because there are sins among his good deeds and good deeds among his sins. Let me elaborate.
When he assumed office, the Peruvian economy was virtually bankrupt with a hyperinflation of 8000%, and the capital, Lima, was under daily bombing attacks by the far-left guerilla group Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path). People were trembling with fear and capital continued to flee overseas.
Fujimori emerged on the scene, and calmed the inflation by decisively carrying out drastic belt-tightening measures that were deemed impossible by all concerned including international organization. As the first President of Peru to do so, he confronted the terrorists head on.
It would be difficult to imagine today the extent of relief the Peruvian people felt when Abimael Guzmán was arrested in September 1992, two years after Fujimori assumed office.
Prior to that, in April, Fujimori staged the autogolpe (self-coup) and suspended much of the constitution and dissolved the parliament. It was met with shouts of exaltation by the people who had despaired of the existing political parties that had been pursuing their own selfish interests. The support for the emergency measures went up to 90%. At one point, the Fujimori fever extended to other Latin American countries.
However, the authoritarian methods that led in part to his downfall from the presidency started to germinate among this series of his achievements. Naturally, one cannot categorically condemn authoritarian methods as evil. Japanese media expressed no small skepticism regarding the rescue operation by force for the hostages of the occupation of the Japanese ambassador’s residence in December 1996, but could there have been any plausible means of resolving the crisis?
That said, authoritarianism can turn into the devil’s temptation, especially if it is successful. Authoritarianism begets authoritarianism, eventually leading to dictatorship. One cannot deny that Fujimori fell into this pattern.
Fujimori recruited as his advisor Vladimiro Montesinos, former military officer and lawyer, who had close connections with the American CIA and the Columbian narcotics cartels. This may have been a second-best option for Fujimori who had no basis in the military and was faced with a torrent of resistance to the non-white supreme commander. However, Montesinos used the SIN (National Intelligence Service) for his own personal purposes and eventually roped in the president and ended up as the culprit for the latter’s downfall,
As for Fujimori’s relationship with Japan, I have similarly ambivalent feelings. In a nutshell, Fujimori served to make Japan and Peru closer, and also managed to make our two countries more distant.
When he became the first head of state of Japanese descent, both the government and people of Japan were overjoyed, with the ODA (official development assistance) to Peru marking a sudden increase, and the governmental and non-governmental support to Peru and people-to-people exchange expanded. However, as he remained in office for 10 years and criticisms mounted on his authoritarianism and disregard for human rights, the Fujimori fever in Japan cooled down both in government and non-government sectors.
In November 2000, Fujimori stopped in Japan after attending the APEC summit in Brunei and went into de facto exile. In November 2005, he left Japan to run again for the presidency and was detained after attempting to enter Peru via Chile. These added in Japan to the confusion and sense of unease towards him.
At a press conference during his first visit to Japan as President, when asked what he thought of Japan, Fujimori replied: ‘It was neither hot nor cold. It was lukewarm’. In hindsight, this was a memorable comment that captured the essence of Japan.
The year 2024 marked the 125th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Peru, and the year 2023 marked the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. However, in this series of milestone years in Japan-Peru relations, there did not seem to be much public excitement. Not even a mention of Fujimori, the only President of Japanese descent in the history of Japan-Peru relations, was heard. It was as if that decade of history had been written off.
Japan is still lukewarm. At a time when China is rapidly scaling up its presence in Latin America, including Peru, it is necessary to further strengthen Japan-Peru relations, regardless of the pros and cons on the Fujimori era. But no one is enthusiastic about it anywhere, and the lukewarm situation continues.
In his later years, Fujimori was forced to fight a long illness, but he was consistently upbeat and positive about his fate. I last met him in October 2017 at the guardhouse where he was incarcerated. He entertained me by demonstrating his cooking prowess wearing an apron. He said he spent every day at his computer writing a history of the Fujimori family, and although his days seemed quiet and peaceful, he seemed to still harbor an insatiable will to return to power. Perhaps this struggle continues in heaven.
CHINO Keiko is a freelance journalist.
Evaluating his presidency is not easy because there are sins among his good deeds and good deeds among his sins. Let me elaborate.
When he assumed office, the Peruvian economy was virtually bankrupt with a hyperinflation of 8000%, and the capital, Lima, was under daily bombing attacks by the far-left guerilla group Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path). People were trembling with fear and capital continued to flee overseas.
Fujimori emerged on the scene, and calmed the inflation by decisively carrying out drastic belt-tightening measures that were deemed impossible by all concerned including international organization. As the first President of Peru to do so, he confronted the terrorists head on.
It would be difficult to imagine today the extent of relief the Peruvian people felt when Abimael Guzmán was arrested in September 1992, two years after Fujimori assumed office.
Prior to that, in April, Fujimori staged the autogolpe (self-coup) and suspended much of the constitution and dissolved the parliament. It was met with shouts of exaltation by the people who had despaired of the existing political parties that had been pursuing their own selfish interests. The support for the emergency measures went up to 90%. At one point, the Fujimori fever extended to other Latin American countries.
However, the authoritarian methods that led in part to his downfall from the presidency started to germinate among this series of his achievements. Naturally, one cannot categorically condemn authoritarian methods as evil. Japanese media expressed no small skepticism regarding the rescue operation by force for the hostages of the occupation of the Japanese ambassador’s residence in December 1996, but could there have been any plausible means of resolving the crisis?
That said, authoritarianism can turn into the devil’s temptation, especially if it is successful. Authoritarianism begets authoritarianism, eventually leading to dictatorship. One cannot deny that Fujimori fell into this pattern.
Fujimori recruited as his advisor Vladimiro Montesinos, former military officer and lawyer, who had close connections with the American CIA and the Columbian narcotics cartels. This may have been a second-best option for Fujimori who had no basis in the military and was faced with a torrent of resistance to the non-white supreme commander. However, Montesinos used the SIN (National Intelligence Service) for his own personal purposes and eventually roped in the president and ended up as the culprit for the latter’s downfall,
As for Fujimori’s relationship with Japan, I have similarly ambivalent feelings. In a nutshell, Fujimori served to make Japan and Peru closer, and also managed to make our two countries more distant.
When he became the first head of state of Japanese descent, both the government and people of Japan were overjoyed, with the ODA (official development assistance) to Peru marking a sudden increase, and the governmental and non-governmental support to Peru and people-to-people exchange expanded. However, as he remained in office for 10 years and criticisms mounted on his authoritarianism and disregard for human rights, the Fujimori fever in Japan cooled down both in government and non-government sectors.
In November 2000, Fujimori stopped in Japan after attending the APEC summit in Brunei and went into de facto exile. In November 2005, he left Japan to run again for the presidency and was detained after attempting to enter Peru via Chile. These added in Japan to the confusion and sense of unease towards him.
At a press conference during his first visit to Japan as President, when asked what he thought of Japan, Fujimori replied: ‘It was neither hot nor cold. It was lukewarm’. In hindsight, this was a memorable comment that captured the essence of Japan.
The year 2024 marked the 125th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Peru, and the year 2023 marked the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. However, in this series of milestone years in Japan-Peru relations, there did not seem to be much public excitement. Not even a mention of Fujimori, the only President of Japanese descent in the history of Japan-Peru relations, was heard. It was as if that decade of history had been written off.
Japan is still lukewarm. At a time when China is rapidly scaling up its presence in Latin America, including Peru, it is necessary to further strengthen Japan-Peru relations, regardless of the pros and cons on the Fujimori era. But no one is enthusiastic about it anywhere, and the lukewarm situation continues.
In his later years, Fujimori was forced to fight a long illness, but he was consistently upbeat and positive about his fate. I last met him in October 2017 at the guardhouse where he was incarcerated. He entertained me by demonstrating his cooking prowess wearing an apron. He said he spent every day at his computer writing a history of the Fujimori family, and although his days seemed quiet and peaceful, he seemed to still harbor an insatiable will to return to power. Perhaps this struggle continues in heaven.
CHINO Keiko is a freelance journalist.
The English-Speaking Union of Japan
追悼：アルベルト・フジモリ元ペルー大統領と日本
千野 境子 / フリーランスジャーナリスト
2024年 12月 9日
1990年7月、南米初の日系大統領となったペルーのアルベルト・フジモリ氏が2024年9月11日、86歳で死去した。天国と地獄、頂点と失意という両極を経験した波乱の生涯だった。
大統領としての評価は、功の中に罪があり、罪の中に功があり簡単にはいかない。どういうことか。
就任時、ペルー経済は8000％ものハイパーインフレにより事実上破綻し、首都リマは極左ゲリラ「センデロ・ルミノソ（輝く道）」の爆弾テロに連日見舞われていた。国民は慄き、資本の海外流出が続いた。
そこに登場したフジモリ氏は、国際機関を含めて誰もが不可能と考えた緊縮政策を断行してインフレを収束させ、テロにも歴代大統領として初めて正面対決した。
就任2年後の1992年9月、「輝く道」の最高指導者グスマンの逮捕に国民がどれほど安堵したか、今では想像も出来ないだろう。
先立つ4月のアウトゴルぺ（自主クーデタ―）と称する憲法停止措置と議会閉鎖も、私益に走る既成政党に絶望していた国民は快哉を叫び、非常措置支持は90％に達した。一時、フジモリ・フィーバーは南米諸国にまで及んだ。
しかし一連の業績には大統領失脚の一因ともなった強権的手法の萌芽が早くもあった。もちろん強権的手法は一概に悪とは言えない。1996年12月の日本大使公邸占拠・人質事件での武力による救出作戦に日本のメディアは少なからず疑問を呈したが、果たしてそれ以外の解決方法はあっただろうか。
とは言え、強権は奏功すればするほど権力者には悪魔の誘惑となる。強権は強権を呼び、行きつく先は独裁。フジモリ氏もその轍を踏んだと言わざるをえない。
南米コロンビアの麻薬カルテルや米中央情報局（CIA）と関係が深い元軍人で弁護士、モンテシノスの顧問登用も、軍に基盤がなく、非白人最高司令官への反発が渦巻く中では次善の策だったのかもしれない。しかし国家諜報局（SIN）を私物化し、結局は大統領を道連れにし、失脚の張本人となった。
日本との関係に於いても、筆者は同様な思いを抱く。日秘関係はフジモリ氏によって近くなり、フジモリ氏によって遠くもなったということである。
日系の国家元首誕生に、当時は日本政府も国民も沸き立ち、ペルーへのODA（政府開発援助）は一挙に増え、官民のペルー支援も人的交流も拡大した。だが在任10年、強権化や人権軽視等への非難が高まる中で、日本における官民のフジモリ熱は冷めていった。
また2000年11月、フジモリ氏がブルネイでのAPEC首脳会議出席後に日本に立ち寄り、そのまま事実上の亡命をしたこと、さらに05年11月に大統領選再出馬を目指し離日、チリ経由でペルー入国を図り拘束されたことも、フジモリ氏への困惑や一種の違和感が増したのは確かだ。
大統領として初訪日した際の記者会見で、日本の感想を問われたフジモリ氏は「熱くも冷たくもない。ぬるいでした」と答えた。今となってみれば、日本の本質を突いた「名言」だったと思う。
2024年は日本人のペルー移住125周年、2023年は外交関係樹立150年だった。しかし日秘関係の節目の年が続いたにしては、国民的盛り上がりはもう一つだったように思う。日秘史上唯一人の日系大統領であるフジモリ氏についての言及も聞かれなかった。まるであの10年の歴史などなかったかのように。
日本はやっぱりぬるいのだ。中国がペルーを含めて中南米に急速に地歩を広げ、存在感を増しつつある今こそ、フジモリ時代の是非とは関係なく、日秘関係の一層の強化が必要なのに、誰も、どこも熱くならず、ぬるい状況が続く。
晩年は長い闘病生活を余儀なくされたフジモリ氏だが、運命には一貫して明るく前向きだった。筆者が最後に会ったのは2017年10月、収監先の警護施設で、エプロン姿で料理の腕を揮い、歓待してくれた。毎日パソコンに向かってフジモリ家の歴史を書いていると言い、静かで穏やかな日々に思えたが、権力復帰への飽くなき意志を尚秘めているようでもあった。ひょっとすると、闘いは天国でも続いているかもしれない。
筆者はフリーランスジャーナリスト
大統領としての評価は、功の中に罪があり、罪の中に功があり簡単にはいかない。どういうことか。
就任時、ペルー経済は8000％ものハイパーインフレにより事実上破綻し、首都リマは極左ゲリラ「センデロ・ルミノソ（輝く道）」の爆弾テロに連日見舞われていた。国民は慄き、資本の海外流出が続いた。
そこに登場したフジモリ氏は、国際機関を含めて誰もが不可能と考えた緊縮政策を断行してインフレを収束させ、テロにも歴代大統領として初めて正面対決した。
就任2年後の1992年9月、「輝く道」の最高指導者グスマンの逮捕に国民がどれほど安堵したか、今では想像も出来ないだろう。
先立つ4月のアウトゴルぺ（自主クーデタ―）と称する憲法停止措置と議会閉鎖も、私益に走る既成政党に絶望していた国民は快哉を叫び、非常措置支持は90％に達した。一時、フジモリ・フィーバーは南米諸国にまで及んだ。
しかし一連の業績には大統領失脚の一因ともなった強権的手法の萌芽が早くもあった。もちろん強権的手法は一概に悪とは言えない。1996年12月の日本大使公邸占拠・人質事件での武力による救出作戦に日本のメディアは少なからず疑問を呈したが、果たしてそれ以外の解決方法はあっただろうか。
とは言え、強権は奏功すればするほど権力者には悪魔の誘惑となる。強権は強権を呼び、行きつく先は独裁。フジモリ氏もその轍を踏んだと言わざるをえない。
南米コロンビアの麻薬カルテルや米中央情報局（CIA）と関係が深い元軍人で弁護士、モンテシノスの顧問登用も、軍に基盤がなく、非白人最高司令官への反発が渦巻く中では次善の策だったのかもしれない。しかし国家諜報局（SIN）を私物化し、結局は大統領を道連れにし、失脚の張本人となった。
日本との関係に於いても、筆者は同様な思いを抱く。日秘関係はフジモリ氏によって近くなり、フジモリ氏によって遠くもなったということである。
日系の国家元首誕生に、当時は日本政府も国民も沸き立ち、ペルーへのODA（政府開発援助）は一挙に増え、官民のペルー支援も人的交流も拡大した。だが在任10年、強権化や人権軽視等への非難が高まる中で、日本における官民のフジモリ熱は冷めていった。
また2000年11月、フジモリ氏がブルネイでのAPEC首脳会議出席後に日本に立ち寄り、そのまま事実上の亡命をしたこと、さらに05年11月に大統領選再出馬を目指し離日、チリ経由でペルー入国を図り拘束されたことも、フジモリ氏への困惑や一種の違和感が増したのは確かだ。
大統領として初訪日した際の記者会見で、日本の感想を問われたフジモリ氏は「熱くも冷たくもない。ぬるいでした」と答えた。今となってみれば、日本の本質を突いた「名言」だったと思う。
2024年は日本人のペルー移住125周年、2023年は外交関係樹立150年だった。しかし日秘関係の節目の年が続いたにしては、国民的盛り上がりはもう一つだったように思う。日秘史上唯一人の日系大統領であるフジモリ氏についての言及も聞かれなかった。まるであの10年の歴史などなかったかのように。
日本はやっぱりぬるいのだ。中国がペルーを含めて中南米に急速に地歩を広げ、存在感を増しつつある今こそ、フジモリ時代の是非とは関係なく、日秘関係の一層の強化が必要なのに、誰も、どこも熱くならず、ぬるい状況が続く。
晩年は長い闘病生活を余儀なくされたフジモリ氏だが、運命には一貫して明るく前向きだった。筆者が最後に会ったのは2017年10月、収監先の警護施設で、エプロン姿で料理の腕を揮い、歓待してくれた。毎日パソコンに向かってフジモリ家の歴史を書いていると言い、静かで穏やかな日々に思えたが、権力復帰への飽くなき意志を尚秘めているようでもあった。ひょっとすると、闘いは天国でも続いているかもしれない。
筆者はフリーランスジャーナリスト
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟