INTRODUCTION
At 8:20pm, one week before Christmas, 1996, an explosion ripped a hole in the garden wall of the heavily guarded Japanese embassy in Lima, Peru. With the smoke still rising, 14 armed guerrillas from the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) stormed the ambassador’s residence. Within minutes, everyone in the compound became a hostage.
The Japanese ambassador had been throwing a party for over 600 guests that evening; among the dignitaries were Peruvian congressmen, members of the Supreme Court, and chiefs of police.
This was a defining crisis for the Peruvian President, Alberto Fujimori, whose parents had emigrated from Japan. Although Fujimori had made significant gains against the MRTA when he came to power in 1990, by 1996 the Peruvian economy had slowed, prices were rising, and many Peruvians had become distrustful of his administration. On the eve of the embassy take-over, Fujimori’s popularity had plummeted to 38%. Not only did the crisis put Fujimori’s political future at stake, but worse, his own mother and brother were two of those taken hostage.
Initial reports revealed that the guerillas were “armed to the teeth” with machine guns and anti-tank weapons, and that they had wired rooms as well as the roof with explosives. They had chosen their target well – the ambassador’s compound was encircled by a 12-foot wall, the windows had both bullet-proof glass and bars, and the doors within the building had been designed to withstand grenades.
The guerillas, who appeared to hold all of the cards, began making demands: they wanted the Peruvian government to release 450 fellow MRTA members, enact market reforms, and improve living conditions in Peru’s jails.
Negotiation appeared to offer the only solution. Not only did the prospects of a military resolution appear dim, but Fujimori faced both internal and substantial external pressure to reach a negotiated settlement; Japanese leaders, including the Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro