Base Tokyo. The Hostage Crisis in Peru. The Bloody Summer

The takeover of the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima became from the very first moment a news story of worldwide impact, as demonstrated by the number of journalists from the leading media outlets of the world who arrived in droves as soon as the event occurred. Probably never before had an event occurring in our country attracted so much international press coverage, or occupied such a prominent place in the media, as the hostage crisis. But just as they arrived, they left, reflecting the transience characteristic of contemporary journalism, where a news story quickly ceases to be one and falls into oblivion, overtaken by others that immediately appear on the national and global scene. Hence the need to compile an account that, while still fragmentary, makes it possible to preserve a record of events that will undoubtedly leave a deep mark on the country's collective memory. (Excerpt from the foreword).