From DiscoverNikkei.org
Japan and Peru in the Fujimori Era: The Ties That Bind
Philip Mauceri
The seizure of the Japanese Ambassador's residence in Lima in December 1996 by members of Peru's Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru (MRTA) highlighted Japan's growing visibility and importance to Peruvians. Japan was targeted by the rebels because of its perceived closeness to the Fujimori government and support for the Peruvian administration's economic policies. The ambassador's reception that was violently interrupted by the MRTA attracted hundreds of prominent Peruvians and was considered one of the most important events on Lima's social calendar. During the 1990s Japan has, for many Peruvians, replaced the United States as a cultural and economic model.
The election of a Japanese-Peruvian, Alberto Fujimori, as president in 1990 and the strategies of both government and business to seek greater economic ties with Pacific Basin countries have given Japan a new status in the Peruvian imagination. President Fujimori has visited Japan more than any other country during his term in office and special reports on Japan's economy and society became a staple of television news reports. On the other side of the Pacific, the pride many Japanese feel in having the son of Japanese immigrants as president of Peru, along with the presence of an estimated 100,000 Nikkei in Peru, the second largest community in Latin America, has contributed to a new interest in Peru. This paper will examlne the Japan-Peru relatiorlship as it has evolved, and suggest that while the ties that bind these two Pacific countries are longstanding and deepening, there remain significant limits and potential pitfalls in the relationship.
Philip Mauceri, Department of Political Science, University of Northern Iowa.
Paper Presented for the Conference: Agenda on the Pacific Rim: Educating About Japan, Latin America and the Relationships between Japan and the Americas. October 16-18, 1997, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
Discover Nikkei web site hosted this article with a permission from Prof. Philip Mauceri.