Japan temple withdraws from torch route

 

By Chisa Fujioka

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Buddhist temple in central Japan withdrew on Friday from kicking off the Japanese leg of the Olympic torch relay, citing security concerns and anger from followers over China's crackdown in Tibet.

The Zenkoji temple in Nagano said it had received 1,000 letters from residents and followers calling for the temple to pull out of the relay on April 26, after the crackdown in Buddhist Tibet, where monasteries have been raided and monks arrested.

"We needed to think about security, being a temple with national treasures and many visitors," an official for the temple, an iconic symbol of Nagano, told Reuters.

"We also had to take into account the many messages of concern that we, as a Buddhist temple, received from residents all over the country and from our followers after growing international focus on the Tibet issue."

Eighty torch-bearers are expected to jog the 11 miles route in the city which hosted the Winter Games in 1998, but the city's torch organizing committee said they would now consider if there would be changes needed in the route.

The Olympic torch relay has been marred by chaotic demonstrations at some of its stops around the world, with 15,000 police having kept protesters far from the route on Thursday in New Delhi, home to the world's largest community of exiled Tibetans. The torch is now in Bangkok.

The relay was also beset by protests through Europe and the United States against the Chinese government's launch of a security crackdown in Buddhist Tibet after protests and deadly riots last month.

In some cities, protesters tried to snuff out the flame and organizers extinguished or hid the torch to keep it safe.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Japan wanted to ensure security and prevent confusion for the Japanese leg, although he added that police at home would not need help from China.

A Nagano official said on Thursday that there would be no security role in Japan for Chinese paramilitary guards who have been criticized elsewhere for their perceived heavy-handed approach to managing the torch's progress.

On Friday, a Japanese lawmaker told visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi that he hoped China would heed international attention on its "domestic political affairs" to make the Olympics a success, but Yang avoided commenting on issue. (Additional reporting by Linda Sieg; Editing by David Fogarty)