Photo/Illutration Peruvian President-elect Alberto Fujimori is welcomed by residents in his parents’ hometown, Kawachi town, currently Kumamoto city, in Kumamoto Prefecture in July 1990. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

A top Japanese diplomat advised his government not to go overboard in welcoming new Peruvian leader Alberto Fujimori when he was planning to visit Japan in 1990 after winning the vote to become the country’s first president of Japanese descent. 

The government on Dec. 22 disclosed files compiled from diplomatic documents on Fujimori’s arrival in Japan in July 1990 prior to his formal inauguration. 

Masaki Seo, Japanese Ambassador to Peru at the time, advised in an official telegram to Tokyo that the government’s response to Fujimori’s arrival in Japan should not be overly exuberant. 

“It will be problematic if the government treats him too emotionally as he will be the first president of Japanese descent,” Seo said. “It will be beneficial for strengthening the foundation of his administration and building the relationship between Japan and Peru if the government willingly accepts a sense of affinity and expectation, and treats him as favorably and positively as possible.” 

According to a series of documents, when Fujimori met with Seo prior to his visit, he talked about his reasons for wanting to visit Japan.

Fujimori said that he would like to ask for economic assistance and promote travel to Peru, and that he hoped to “visit his relatives in Japan for sentimental reasons.” 

Fujimori’s visit stirred major interest in Japan, particularly in his parents’ hometown, as many Japanese had emigrated to Peru prior to World War II.

The Foreign Ministry, at that time, compiled the new Peruvian leader’s profile as follows. 

Fujimori’s parents came from Kawachi town, currently Kumamoto city, in Kumamoto Prefecture. In 1920, they emigrated to Peru in groups. 

His parents had five children, with Fujimori being the oldest son. 

After Fujimori spent about 33 years in academia, he entered politics. 

In the 1990 presidential election, he campaigned on the slogan of “Honesty, hard work and technology.” He gained tremendous support from indigenous Peruvians, farmers and underclass people in major cities. 

In his 1990 visit to Japan, Fujimori met with Emperor Akihito, currently emperor emeritus, as he had requested.

When he took a one-day trip from Tokyo to Kawachi town in Kumamoto Prefecture, he was welcomed feverishly by the residents. 

Reports believed to have been made by the prefectural government said, “Fujimori’s sister Rosa talked to her relatives who came to the airport to welcome her for such a long time that the motorcade could not leave on time.” 

The reports also said, “There were reporters swarming the narrow streets in the town and local people feverishly asking Fujimori to shake hands with them, which forced him to stop many times.” 

When he met with Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, he asked Kaifu for economic assistance while saying that he “would make self-help efforts” to solve Peru’s accumulated foreign debt issues. 

“I understand Peru’s difficult situation,” the prime minister told him.

According to an article carried in The Asahi Shimbun, an elderly man and an elderly woman visited a Tokyo hotel where Fujimori was staying. They each donated 10 million yen ($88,000 at the current exchange rate) to him.

“I also experienced tough times in my life, so I hope that he can do his best,” the man said.

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This article is a part of a series of stories based on the diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry in December 2021.

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