Fujimori Trip Sparks Asylum Rumors

Facing political turmoil at home, Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori plans to remain in Tokyo until Wednesday to negotiate loans to ease his nation’s financial problems, the government newspaper El Peruano said. That explanation did little to help dispel rumors that the beleaguered president was in Asia seeking political asylum. Fujimori was heavily criticized for flying to Asia despite an intensifying 9-week-old political crisis at home that has forced him to announce that he will step down in July after elections four years early.