Kawachi, Kumamoto Kawachi, Kumamoto On February 1, 1991, Kawachi, along with the towns of Akita, Hokubu and Tenmei (all from Hōtaku District), was merged into the expanded city of Kumamoto and no longer exists as an independent municipality. As of April 1, 2012, the area is part of the Nishi-ku ward. Kawachi was the ancestral hometown of Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000). His parents, Naoichi Fujimori (original surname "Minami", adopted by a childless relative; 1897–1971) and Mutsue Inomoto Fujimori (1913–2009), immigrated to Peru in 1934. Decades later, Alberto himself made a triumphal visit to the town in July 1990, shortly before taking
Alberto Fujimori perceived as a term of affection. With his election victory, he became just the second person of East Asian descent to become head of government of a Latin American nation, after Fulgencio Batista of Cuba and the third of East Asian descent to govern a South American state, after Arthur Chung of Guyana and Henk Chin A Sen of Suriname (each of whom had served as head of state, rather than head of government). During his first term in office, Fujimori enacted wide-ranging neoliberal reforms, known as Fujishock. During the presidency of Alan García, the economy had entered a period