Japan changes Olympic torch relay route

JAPAN - THE Japanese leg of the Olympic torch relay will kick off from a vacant patch of land in Nagano City after a historic Buddhist temple pulled out as host over security concerns and complaints from the faithful, a city official said on Monday.
The three corporate sponsors for the Japanese leg of the relay on Saturday have also decided against sending vehicles to take part in the event, which Japanese media said would attract protests.

The torch relay has been marred by chaotic demonstrations at some of its stops around the world, sparked by the Chinese government's crackdown in Buddhist Tibet after protests and deadly riots last month.

The Zenkoji temple last week distanced itself from the event, partly because of followers' anger over China's actions in Tibet. The main building of the temple was later vandalised, with white circles spray-painted onto wooden columns and a door, an official at the temple said.

Eighty torch-bearers are expected to jog the 18.5 km route through the central Japanese city that hosted the Winter Games in 1998.

A spokesman for the Japanese arm of Olympics sponsor Coca-Cola said the company had cancelled plans to send a truck to take part in the motorcade at the torch relay because it could get in the way of heavy security.

A Japanese branch of Olympic sponsor Samsung Electronics said it had decided last October not to send a vehicle for the same reason.

The Japanese wing of Lenovo Group, the world's No.4 computer maker, said it had decided against sending a vehicle in mid-March after taking into consideration the costs and effectiveness of the plan.

About 2,000 Chinese are expected to attend the Nagano leg of the relay and local human rights activists are planning protests, domestic media have said.

The torch is now in Kuala Lumpur and is set to head to Jakarta and Canberra before reaching Nagano on April 26. -- REUTERS