Olympic torch arrives in Japan

TOKYO: The Olympic torch arrived on Friday in Japan on the latest leg of a worldwide relay hit by protests.

The chartered Beijing Olympic plane, emblazoned with the slogan "Journey of Harmony", flew into Tokyo's Haneda airport at 0600 GMT (2100 GMT Thursday) welcomed by some 30 people holding Chinese and Japanese flags.

The torch heads on Saturday to the central mountain town of Nagano, the site of the 1998 Winter Olympics.

"I am confident that the Beijing Olympics torch relay will be a success," Cui Tiankai, China's ambassador to Japan, said at the airport.

Japan has pledged tight security for the relay, where both Chinese residents and supporters of greater freedoms in Tibet plan to demonstrate.

A revered seventh-century Buddhist temple last week backed out of plans to be the starting point for the relay due to concerns about China's crackdown in predominantly Buddhist Tibet.

Earlier legs of the torch relay have been hit by protests, particularly London and Paris where chaotic scenes enraged the Chinese public.

The torch came to Japan from Canberra, where thousands of Chinese supporters took to the streets and Australian security tussled with Chinese torch escorts.