Fujimori fled to Japan last November at the height of a corruption scandal
                 sparked by his spy chief and was fired by Congress as "morally unfit" to rule.
                 He remains in Japan, protected there from moves to try him by his dual
                 citizenship.

                 Prosecutor Nicanor de la Fuente called on the Supreme Court to "declare him
                 (Fujimori) an absent criminal ... requesting also his capture and extradition" on
                 charges of dereliction of duty, the state prosecutor's office said in a statement.

                 Tokyo has recognized the 62-year-old Fujimori as Japanese because his parents,
                 who emigrated to Peru in the 1930s, entered his name in a family register in
                 their hometown.

                 Japan does not as a rule extradite its nationals and has so far resisted Peru's
                 efforts to call him to account for fleeing last year amid the country's worst
                 political and graft crisis.

                 Fujimori set off for Asia on a trade trip but then made a surprise trip to Japan,
                 where he sent his resignation to Congress. It was rejected and he was fired
                 instead.

                 He has been in Japan ever since and is writing his memoirs. He insists he is
                 innocent of all wrongdoing and has no plans to return to Peru, saying he would
                 not get a fair hearing.

                 A spokesman for the attorney general's office said Saturday's move was a "step
                 towards" extradition of Fujimori. There was no indication of when the Supreme
                 Court would respond, but the spokesman said it could happen quickly.

                 Peru is cranking up efforts to haul Fujimori home to face justice after the
                 capture in Venezuela last month of his spy chief, Vladimiro Montesinos.

                 Peru's ambassador to Tokyo, Luis Machiavello, who was recently called to
                 Lima for consultations on how to proceed in the Fujimori case, told Reuters this
                 week that Peru would charge the former president with more serious crimes
                 and then formally seek extradition.

                 The only case open against him so far is for dereliction of duty, but Peru's
                 attorney general has also charged him with responsibility in a "horrendous" 1991
                 massacre by an army death squad. This charge has yet to be approved by
                 Congress.

                 Montesinos, who is being held in a high-security jail at a Lima naval base, has
                 been telling judges he acted on Fujimori's orders when he allegedly tapped
                 phones and manipulated Peru's courts, Congress, media and military from 1990
                 to 2000 to cement the former president's iron-fisted rule.

                 If proved, judicial sources say that could lead to more charges against Fujimori,
                 who is already being investigated on allegations he diverted state funds.

                 Peru is pursuing a multi-strand approach to the vexing extradition question. It is
                 studying whether Fujimori's Japanese citizenship can be invalidated because he
                 was to all intents and purposes "predominantly" Peruvian, even being received in
                 Japan as a foreign head of state on official visits.

                 The issue is delicate. Tokyo feels beholden to Fujimori for rescuing hostages
                 held by leftist guerrillas in the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima in 1997
                 after a 126-day siege. All 14 rebels died in the storming of the residence.

                 Peru is, however, investigating allegations that at least some of the dead rebels
                 had been shot in the head after surrendering, and has exhumed their bodies.

                 Legal experts say that if it were proven that those were "extrajudicial killings,"
                 Fujimori could be tried for crimes against humanity and Japan would find it
                 difficult to shield him since the Japanese ambassador's residence is officially
                 Japanese soil.

                   Copyright 2001 Reuters.