The advisory minister of the Japanese embassy, Toshio Watanabe, stated that it is "premature" for the Peruvian government to discuss the possibility of taking the case of ex- president Alberto Fujimori to the International Court of Justice.

"We are in a stage of friendly conversation and, from the legal point of view, the government is still is evaluating the extradition of Fujimori," Wantanabe affirmed. As such, the diplomat reaffirmed the time Japan will take to make a decision regarding the request for of the ex-agent chief executive as "indefinite."

Watanabe announced that Japanese authorities are waiting for a response from the Peruvian State to interrogatories sent last August regarding the "Barrios Altos" and "La Cantuta" cases, which correspond to the first extradition papers.

He also mentioned the statements made by Chancellor Manuel Rodriguez Cuadros, who underscored that the Peruvian government is not looking to politicize Fujimori's situation and that it hopes to maintain good bilateral relations between Peru and Japan.

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The Chancellery still is translating the responses to the "Barrios Altos" and "La Cantuta" cases into Japanese, as well as a second requeset for the extradition of Alberto Fujimori for having paided 15 million U.S. dollars to Vladimiro Montesinos in CTS. Both documents will be sent to Japan by the end of October.

Published in: El Correo, Copyright Diario Correo 2004, Wednesday 6 October 2004.