Terror suspect may have visited 2002 World Cup

A Frenchman believed to be linked to the al-Qaida terrorist network may have been in Japan during the 2002 World Cup finals, when the country was on alert for a possible terror strike, a Japanese newspaper said.

France has told Japan that Lionel Dumont, a Frenchman with a history of violent crimes, may have entered Japan using a fake French passport as early as March 2002 and that he travelled from Japan to South Korea on June 18, during the World Cup, the national Asahi newspaper said.