Ex-Peruvian Pres. Fujimori, with Links to Japan, Dies at 86

   Sao Paulo/Tokyo, Sept. 12 (Jiji Press)--Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, who led efforts to resolve a high-profile hostage crisis in the 1990s at the then Japanese ambassador's official residence, has died at age 86, his first daughter Keiko said.
   Keiko said in a Facebook post that her father has just left to meet the Lord after a long battle against cancer. Fujimori died at his home in Lima, Peru's capital, on Wednesday, according to local media. His body will be laid at a national museum in Lima from Thursday before being transferred to a cemetery Saturday.
   Fujimori was born to his parents, both natives of the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kumamoto, who had emigrated to the South American nation.
   In 1990, he beat author Mario Vargas Llosa, who later won the Nobel Prize in Literature, in a runoff vote in the presidential election, becoming the first person with Japanese ancestry to assume the presidency of a South American country.
   Fujimori tackled poverty in rural areas and worked to stabilize the country's economy partly through public works projects. But he was often called a dictator for his heavy-handed political style.

(2024/09/12-14:44)

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