Fujimori denies seeking asylum in Japan

Fujimori, addressing a press conference at a hotel in Tokyo where he has been visiting since last week, said he had not decided how long to stay in Japan, the country of his ancestors.

"I am visiting Japan on a diplomatic passport, but I am no longer a president, I am a normal citizen," the news agency Jiji Press quoted Fujimori as saying late Tuesday local time.

Fujimori had confirmed Monday that he is resigning. The announcement was accompanied by reports that he intended seeking political asylum in Asia.

The Peruvian congress is to make a decision later Tuesday on whom to appoint as acting president for the transition period until elections next year. The man believed most likely to be named is the speaker of parliament, Valentin Paniagua, because Vice President Ricardo Marquez also resigned on Monday.

The deputies will also decide whether to accept Fujimori's offer of resignation or depose him. Peru's opposition had long called for the resignation of Fujimori, 62, who has ruled the country like a virtual dictator for years, clawing back power earlier this year in elections widely seen as rigged.

His rule was shaken by a corruption scandal involving his long- time adviser, the shady and well-connected security chief Vladimiro Montesinos, who subsequently went underground and has since rocked the country's stability with threats to instigate a coup.

(la/dpa)