By IANS,
Dharamsala : Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is in Japan to offer prayers and provide solace to the survivors of the devastating earthquake there last month, an official said here Thursday.
“His Holiness will Friday preside over the customary prayer service on the 49th day of death of those killed in the devastating earthquake. He will also provide solace to those who survived the tragedy,” said a spokesperson for the Dalai Lama’s office.
An earthquake measuring 9 on the Richter scale and a subsequent tsunami March 11 left thousands dead or missing in Japan.
The Dalai Lama, 75, will later go to the US. He will be bestowed with the “Shine a Light on Human Rights” award by the Amnesty International in California May 4.
The spokesperson said the award for the Nobel laureate would be given in recognition of his lifelong commitment to social justice and human rights.
Some 140,000 Tibetans now live in exile, over 100,000 of them in different parts of India. Over six million Tibetans live in Tibet.