| A senior al-Qaida member was based in Japan for more than a year, and investigators suspect he was trying to establish a terror cell, a media report said Tuesday. Investigators believe that Lionel Dumont -- a French citizen of Algerian descent -- used a fake passport to enter Japan in July 2002 and stayed here until he left for Malaysia in September 2003. The report said Dumont provided money and equipment to the network. Dumont, 33, was in contact with about 10 other foreign residents of Japan, and investigators suspect he may have been trying to set up a terror cell. Dumont was arrested in Munich by German authorities last December and had been on Interpol's wanted list. Local media reported in February that al-Qaida had planned to carry out attacks in Japan during the 2002 World Cup soccer tournament, just before Dumont allegedly arrived here. |