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Olympic torch arrives
in Japan
The Beijing Olympic torch arrived
Friday in Japan, where authorities prepared for pro-Tibet protests in
Nagano, the site of the next leg of the torch relay.
The torch comes to Nagano, where the 1998 Winter Olympics were held,
after being greeted with protests in several major cities -- including
Paris, London and San Francisco -- against China's crackdown in Tibet.
The Nagano leg of the relay Saturday will cover about 11.6 miles through
the city and will last three hours, Kyodo news service reported.
Japanese national baseball team manager Senichi Hoshino, 61, will be the
first runner.
The report said pro-Tibetan and other groups were expected to stage
protests against China's human rights record, while about 2,000 Chinese
residents and students in Japan were to gather in support of the torch
relay.
Riot and other police officers reportedly would guard the torch and the
runner during the event.
The torch's next destination after Nagano is Seoul, the host city of the
1988 Summer Olympics.
2008-04-26 |
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