Peruvian former president Alberto Fujimori fled to Japan, the land of his ancestors where he holds a citizenship, in November last year. Fujimori announced his resignation in Tokyo via fax, but the Congress rejected his resignation and sacked him for being "morally unfit".

Fujimori fled Peru at the height of a scandal which was sparked when a secretly taped video showed his influential spy chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, paying off congressmen.

A Peruvian Judge Jose Luis Lecaros on August 2 issued an international warrant for his arrest for failing to appear in a Peruvian court to answer the charges of abandoning his post. But a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said Tokyo recognizes Fujimori as a Japanese citizen, and that it does not extradite its nationals, nor does it have an extradition pact with Peru.

In addition to "dereliction of duty", Fujimori is also charged with committing many other serious crimes. During his 1990-2000 rule, Fujomori ruled Peru with an iron fist. In May, Attorney General Nelly Calderon accused him of overseeing a notorious 1991 massacre where 15 people - including an 8-year-old boy - reportedly mistakenly for leftist rebels were killed by the "Grupo Colina" military death squad. A congressional commission in June accused Fujimori of being a "co-author" of the killing, along with another massacre of nine students and a professor at a Lima university in 1992.

Human rights groups say he ordered the execution of 14 Marxist rebels in 1997, when commandos stormed the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima to end a hostage siege.

He is also under investigation for alleged human rights abuses in connection with extra-judicial killings carried out by paramilitary groups.

Montesinos, who was Fujimori's right hand as Peru's intelligence chief and was captured on June 23 in Venezuela after an eight-month manhunt, has alledged in his trial that Fujimori ordered him to bribe courts, military, Congress and the media. Although these allegations should be proved by the Congress, all the evidence indicates that Fujimori was directly involved in the crimes committed in the country.

Now, the question is, shouldn't Fujimori be held accountable for the crimes he committed during his 10-year rule? If he had felt committed to his country, he would never have defected to Japan, where he holds a citizenship.

The world expects Japan to extradite Fujimoris to Peru to stand trial for his dereliction of duty and other serious charges.

Japanese officials argue that based on the country's law, they cannot extradite Fujimori, but these officials should realize that Fujimori's case is so serious that any delay in his extradition would harm Japan's international credibility.