A letter from the US embassy in the Philippines, dated 11 December 2003,
states that Bobby Fischer's US passport was issued at the US embassy in
Switzerland on 24 January 1997. That's more than 4 years after the US
authorities issued an arrest warrant on 15 December 1992. Curious that
in 1997 they apparently weren't interested in enforcing it, huh?

http://home.att.ne.jp/moon/fischer/list/p_52/52_0.htm

They didn't seek to have him extradited then. So why might they seek to
have him extradited now?

Note, BTW, that (AFAIK) there has been no official confirmation that US
authorities *are* seeking to have him extradited from Japan. What's been
stated is that the Japanese authorities may extradite him to the US - I
think what is really meant here is 'deport'. Obviously he needs to find
asylum in a third country.

Note that immigration officials at Narita airport in Japan say that he
was given landing permission on 15 April 2004, so a similar question
might be asked about the Japanese authorities too. Why did they detain
him this week owing to the cancellation of his US passport, when they
didn't do so in April?

--
banana "The thing I hate about you, Rowntree, is the way you
give Coca-Cola to your scum, and your best teddy-bear to
Oxfam, and expect us to lick your frigid fingers for the
rest of your frigid life." (Mick Travis, 'If...', 1968)