By KUNA,
Tokyo : A major Buddhist temple in Nagano City, central Japan, pulled out Friday serving as the starting point for the Japanese leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay on April 26, due to safety concerns and China’s crackdown on Buddhists in Tibet.
Zenkoji, which played a role in opening the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics by ringing its bell, had received many phone calls urging it not to host the starting ceremony.
“Tibetan religious leaders stood up but the Chinese government is cracking down on them. We were concerned about China’s handling of Buddhists there,” Shinsho Wakaomi, a Zenkoji official, told a news conference.
He also said the temple, which was built in the seventh century, wants to protect its national treasures.
The torch relay organizer in Nagano accepted the refusal and will change the relay course.
“We are extremely shocked, but will respect the decision as a general resolve of Zenkoji,” said Kunihiko Shinohara, secretary general of the municipal Olympic planning committee.
“We will have to change the course,” Shinohara told reporters.
Under the original plan, a torch lighting ceremony was supposed to be held at the temple’s compound from 8 a.m. on April 26. About 80 runners were scheduled to cover an 18.5-kilometer course, including an Olympic stadium used in the 1998 Winter Games, starting at Zenkoji.