Japan orders Fischer to be deported to US

JAPAN rejected former chess champion Bobby Fischer's demand for protection as a political refugee yesterday and issued an order to deport him.

Fischer, in custody since he was detained by Japanese airport authorities on July 13 with an invalid United States passport, immediately appealed the decision. The former chess great is wanted in the US for violating international sanctions against Yugoslavia in 1992, but he has alleged the charges against him are politically motivated.

The Justice Ministry would not say when Fischer would be deported, but ministry official Hideharu Maruyama said Fischer would most likely be sent to the US. "The justice minister's judgment was that there was no justification for Fischer's appeal," said Maruyama.

Fischer's lawyers said they had already filed a suit in Tokyo District Court demanding that the order be cancelled. His attorney, Masako Suzuki, said the court typically takes about a month to consider the written request for an injunction on the whole deportation process, supporters said. The chess player's backers in Japan protested against the ruling, saying the ministry officials who told Fischer of the decision said he would be deported later yesterday.

"We managed to nip in the bud this fly-by-night effort to deport Bobby without due process," said John Bosnitch, a Tokyo-based adviser to Fischer.

The deportation order is the latest development in Fischer's legal wrangle with Japanese authorities. In addition to appealing for asylum, Fischer has attempted to renounce his US citizenship and announced plans to marry a Japanese woman in a bid to win sympathy from Tokyo.

Fischer rose to chess stardom by defeating Boris Spassky, formerly of the Soviet Union, in a series of games in 1972 to claim the world championship. The chess legend, however, became increasingly erratic and reclusive after the Spassky match and lost his title in 1978.

In a 1992 rematch against Spassky, Fischer won and collected over $3 million (e2.5m) in prize money, violating UN sanctions by attending the match held in the former Yugoslavia.

Fischer's animosity toward his homeland is well-known, and he once praised the 9/11 attacks.