Japan: Fujimori to stay put

Peru wants its former president to face charges for abandoning office

TOKYO -- Diplomatic tensions are bound to flare up, as Japan's justice ministry said Friday it will not send back ex-President Alberto Fujimori to Peru.

Justice Minister Masahiko Komura said Japan does not deport its own nationals, citing that Fujimori possesses Japanese citizenship.

Komura added that Peru has not yet formally demanded Fujimori's extradition.

Although Japan and Peru have no extradition treaty, Peru's Congress said Japan should send back Fujimori after it voted to charge him with abandoning office and dereliction of duty.

Fujimori fled last November to Japan, his ancestral homeland , amid a bribery scandal involving his closest adviser, former spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos.

Montesinos has been accused of money laundering, corruption, and smuggling arms to Colombian guerrillas.

Fujimori faxed his resignation from Tokyo to the Peruvian Congress the same month he fled.

Fujimori's spy chief is caught red-handed giving a bribe

Lawmakers rejected it and voted him out instead, declaring him morally unfit to remain in office.

Fujimori, who denies any illicit dealings with Montesinos, now reportedly lives in a friend's home.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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