PARIS Former French investigating judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere said that Japan was among Al Qaeda's prime targets for attack, while promoting a book about his 25 years of efforts against terrorism.

Mr Bruguiere, now retired at 65, also described Pakistan as the 'cauldron' of terrorism and blamed ex-president Pervez Musharraf for failing to address the threat of extremists during his seven years in power.

'Japan has become a prime target for Al Qaeda,' he told journalists on Thursday night at an event for the release of his book 'Ce que je n'ai pas pu dire' (What I Couldn't Reveal).

Japan's geographical position and, in particular, its large Pakistani community made the country vulnerable to an attack, he claimed.

The retired judge said he had alerted Japan of the threat as he had done for the United States before the September 11, 2001 attacks.

'The danger nowadays is Pakistan,' he said, describing the country as a 'cauldron' of extremism that was allowed to fester under Musharraf's rule.

A 2003 investigation found Pakistani army officers were acting as instructors in training camps run by a group of militants, he alleged.

Mr Bruguiere also led the 2002 probe of the Karachi bombing that killed 11 French engineers who were helping Pakistan build its first submarine.

During his long career, he also conducted high-profile probes into the Rwandan genocide, the 2004 Madrid attacks and the 1995 Paris subway bombings carried out by Algerian militants.—AFP