Shortly afterward, Peru’s Congress ruled him “morally unfit” for office. Fujimori, who claims to be the descendent of a Japanese noble warrior, spoke with NEWSWEEK correspondent Gregory Beals from a hotel room in Tokyo.

NEWSWEEK: How long do you intend to stay in Japan? Alberto Fujimori: It’s not defined yet. A temporary stay.

Do you intend to return to Peru? That’s not defined yet. When I can see the appropriate conditions and the right moment I will return but I don’t know when.

Many people believe that you are the source of corruption. They allege that you have stolen millions of dollars and placed it in bank accounts outside of the country. How do you respond to these charges? The counter campaign against the investigation of Vladimiro Montesinos [Fujimori’s former top advisor and intelligence chief, who has also fled] by me is trying to distract the focus of attention to me. I don’t have any money in a bank account, in any bank account, outside of Peru. In my 62 years of life, even when I was a student in the United States, I didn’t have a bank account. I have nothing at all, no shares, no stocks.

How would you survive in Japan if your bank accounts in Lima were suspended? I am staying in a friend’s house that is not occupied. The cost of living here doesn’t cost me much. If I stay a little longer, I will work in some foundation that works in social issues. I have a lot of experience in the subject. If I stay longer, then I expect I will get additional resources for selling my memoirs…

Who will carry the flag for your political party in your absence? I don’t think there is a definite leader. There are several people who are loyal to me. People in the provinces are strong supporters. In the shanty towns [they] are supporting me.

But who are the people you would see running your Peru 2000 political party? One person who is a good speaker is my own daughter.

Do you believe she will run for office? No.

When you saw the Montesinos video [which showed Mr. Montesinos offering a cash bribe to an opposition congressman], did you know at that moment that your presidency had come to an end? Fighting terrorism was difficult, but at least all of the media was in favor of fighting terrorism. But fighting corruption against Montesinos, some television channels were not supporting me. Instead they tried to hide by denouncing me. Saying that I have $80 million here in Japan. That is completely false.

Why, then, don’t you return to Peru? There are several reasons: This campaign of the media, together with some people from the judiciary.

These charges are against you, your name and your honor. Why not face them? In the medium term, my honor and my position will be understood. But it may take longer than the siege of the Japanese embassy. I say this because I was strongly criticized for the treatment of the Japanese embassy issue. But I had several reasons not to go to the press immediately. In the end I was successful.

Have you heard from Montesinos. Do you know where he is? I am not sure. But I suppose he is in Lima protected by his friends. Very powerful friends. I don’t have that kind of protection…

You trusted Montesinos. How close were the two of you? In the first period of government we talked about terrorism, internal security and external security. Later, in the second period, there was the conflict with Equador…My relationship was one of confidence. He was showing results. There were many who trusted him because he didn’t appear to be corrupt. He appeared to be a hard worker for the security of the country.

What do you see as your legacy in Peru? My legacy is very important. I think that people will see that there was rampant terrorism that President Fujimori defeated. I was a strong decision maker during the Japanese hostage crisis…

Does it trouble you that you have been accused of such things as taking money from Colombian drug lords for your election 10 years ago? That is part of the counter campaign against me that started when I began to fight corruption. Everybody knows that didn’t happen.