Japan on Monday expressed concern about anti-Japanese sentiment in Peru after Tokyo confirmed the Japanese citizenship of ousted Peru President Alberto Fujimori last week.
"We have to pay attention to the development in Peru," Kazuhiko Koshikawa, deputy press secretary for Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, told a news conference.
"So, the government and the embassy in Lima asked the Peruvian government to provide a necessary security measure for the embassy and for the Japanese nationals stationed in Peru," Koshikawa said.
Anti-Japanese sentiment has intensified in Peru since Japan said Tuesday that Fujimori, the son of Japanese immigrants from Kumamoto, southern Japan, had Japanese citizenship and could stay in the country.
"The Japanese government cannot hand over any Japanese national to other countries," Koshikawa said, adding Tokyo had not received any request from the Peruvian government for his extradition.
On Friday, the foreign ministry issued a warning to its nationals travelling to Peru to be wary of possible dangers.
The embassy in Peru and the local media have received frequent telephone calls threatening to harm Japanese-Peruvians, Japanese businesses in the country, the embassy and its staff, reports said.
Fujimori, who has been in Japan since November 17, was sacked from the presidency by Peru's Congress on November 21.
He has since faced demands to return to testify to a congressional commission investigating allegations of massive corruption by his fugitive former intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesinos -- TOKYO (AFP)
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