Japan leg of torch relay begins

[The Smoking Man]

Japan leg of torch relay begins
The Japanese leg of the Olympic torch relay has started amid tight security in the city of Nagano.

Witnesses said the streets were lined with thousands of Chinese supporters, as well as dozens of protesters.

More than 3,000 police officers have been brought in to guard the event after demonstrations plagued the flame in some other cities on its route.

In a last-minute change, the relay began in a parking lot rather than a Buddhist temple.

The temple was withdrawn as the starting point after objections over China's crackdown in Tibet.

The relay was started by the manager of Japan's national baseball team.

Protests elsewhere on the torch's route - and the huge security operations they have spawned - have turned the celebratory tour of 20 countries into what analysts describe as a public-relations disaster for Beijing.

Police columns

Earlier, Japan told Chinese Olympics organisers that the large team of security officers who have accompanied the flame elsewhere would not be welcome here, reports the BBC's correspondent in Japan, Chris Hogg.

Instead riot police in running gear are surrounding the athlete carrying the torch along each stage of the relay.


Two columns of 40 police officers each are flanking the torch, making it hard for spectators to see much, the organisers admit.

In advance of the torch's arrival, buses full of riot police patrolled the streets and police helicopters hovered overhead.

Protesters waved Tibetan flags. Police said a man had been arrested, after being caught carrying a knife and a statement of protest.

Over the following few days, the torch will stop in South Korea, North Korea, and Vietnam.

In Hanoi, Vietnam, authorities expelled a US citizen of Vietnamese origin who they say was planning protests against the torch, reported state media.

Protests in Athens, London, Paris and San Francisco - where demonstrators angry at the Chinese occupation of Tibet tried to disrupt processions - have dominated media coverage of the torch relay.

However, the flame has made relatively peaceful progress through other cities, including Bangkok in Thailand and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

[The Smoking Man]

Heavy security surrounds Olympic torch runner in Japan
By ERIC TALMADGE, Associated Press Writer
 1 minute ago
 


Japanese runners bypassed minor protests Saturday and carried the Olympic torch through Nagano's streets, lined by thousands of riot police and closely monitored by helicopters overhead.

Police guards in track suits surrounded the first runner — the manager of Japan's national baseball team — and another 100 uniformed riot police trotted alongside six patrol cars and two motorcycles. They were backed up by thousands of other police.

Japanese officials said the security was unavoidable, and called for calm. But the high-profile police presence dissipated any festive mood in Nagano, which hosted the 1998 Winter Games.

But despite a heavy police presence, minor scuffling and protests broke out. At one point, a man tried to charge the torch but police quickly pounced. National broadcaster NHK reported a smoke-emitting tube was thrown at the relay, but without affect. Marchers yelling "Free Tibet" crowded the streets near the route. And before the start, one person was hurt in a fight between Chinese and pro-Tibetan supporters, and a self-proclaimed monk carrying a knife was arrested.

The starting point — a last-minute substitution after a Buddhist temple pulled out — was closed to the public, as were all rest stops along the way.

The relay, making its 16th international stop, has been disrupted by protests or conducted under extremely heavy security at many sites since it left Greece.

The protests are largely in response to China's crackdown last month on protests in Tibet, which it has governed since the 1950s, and to concerns over human rights issues in China.

The international route ends next week, with stops in South Korea on Sunday, North Korea on Monday and Vietnam on Tuesday. The flame arrives on Chinese soil on May 2 in Hong Kong, for a long journey around the country before the Aug. 8 start of the games.

Japan has taken severe measures to ensure its 11.6-mile relay goes smoothly.

But groups including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders planned to protest peacefully througout the day. About 2,000 Chinese exchange students, meanwhile, swarmed Nagano to show their support.

Coinciding with the start of the relay, which began under a light rain, a prayer vigil was held at the largest Buddhist temple in Nagano, Zenkoji.

The 1,400-year-old temple, which was the showcase of the 1998 Olympics, last week declined to host the start of the relay, citing security concerns and sympathy among monks and worshippers for their religious brethren in Tibet.

After arriving in Nagano by bus early Friday, the flame was spirited away to a hotel and put under heavy security. About 3,000 police have been mobilized.

The problems with the torch relay and reports of foiled terrorist plots in China have raised larger concerns of violence during the Beijing Games, the head of Interpol said Friday.

Ronald Noble told an international security conference that potential attacks could involve efforts to block transportation routes, interfere with competitions, assault athletes or destroy property during the Olympics.

In Vietnam, authorities expelled an American citizen of Vietnamese origin who planned to disrupt the relay there, state media reported. Vuong Hoang Minh, 34, was put on a flight to the U.S. on Thursday, the Vietnam News Agency said. It said Minh told authorities he planned to snatch the torch.

[The Smoking Man]

Scuffles in Japan at torch relay

The Olympic torch has met with more protests and scuffles on the latest leg of its troubled relay in the Japanese city of Nagano.

With security tight along the route, one demonstrator tried to seize the torch, before police intervened.

Although there have been two arrests so far, our correspondent reports that there was no serious disruption.

The streets were lined with thousands of Chinese supporters, as well as dozens of protesters.

More than 3,000 police officers were brought in to guard the event after demonstrations had plagued the flame in some other cities on its route.

In a last-minute change, the Nagano leg of the relay began in a parking lot rather than a 1,400-year-old Buddhist temple.

The temple was withdrawn as the starting point after objections over China's crackdown in Tibet.

The start of the relay, with the torch first carried by the manager of Japan's national baseball team, was closed to the public, as were rest stops on the route.

Security officers

Protests elsewhere on the torch's progress - and the huge security operations they have spawned - have turned the celebratory tour of 20 countries into what analysts describe as a public-relations disaster for Beijing.

Earlier, Japan told Chinese Olympics organisers that the large team of security officers who have accompanied the flame elsewhere would not be welcome here, says BBC Japan correspondent Chris Hogg.

Instead riot police in running gear surrounded the athletes carrying the torch along each stage of the relay.

Two columns of 40 police officers each flanked the torch, making it hard for spectators to see much, the organisers admit.

In advance of the torch's arrival, buses full of riot police patrolled the streets and police helicopters hovered overhead.

Vietnam expulsion

Japan, which has had a troubled relationship with China, took extensive steps to ensure that any disruption was kept to a minimum.

Over the following few days, the torch will stop in South Korea, North Korea, and Vietnam.

In Hanoi, Vietnam, authorities expelled a US citizen of Vietnamese origin who they say was planning protests against the torch, reported state media.

Protests in Athens, London, Paris and San Francisco - where demonstrators angry at the Chinese occupation of Tibet tried to disrupt processions - have dominated media coverage of the torch relay.

However, the flame has made relatively peaceful progress through other cities, including Bangkok in Thailand and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

[The Smoking Man]

Four hurt in Olympic torch incidents in Japan: official

1 hour, 16 minutes ago

Pro-Chinese supporters and protesters kicked and punched one another Saturday during the Olympic torch relay, in incidents that injured at least four Chinese, officials said.

A demonstrator, whose nationality was unclear, kicked at the pro-Chinese crowd and Chinese supporters charged with flagpoles until Japanese police broke up the clash near the main train station here, an AFP photographer said.

One young man, who appeared to be Chinese, was seen on the ground with bloody cuts on his forehead as supporters wrapped a Chinese flag around him.

It was one of the most serious of a string of incidents throughout Japan's leg of the worldwide relay in the central mountain town.

Chinese students, who outnumbered protesters, were seen surrounding the demonstrators who waved Tibetan flags, including at the relay's final point.

At least four Chinese people were injured in clashes, including one who was taken to a hospital for cuts to his forehead, according to police and fire department officials. None of the injuries were considered serious.

Two protesters were arrested for bursting onto the street in attempts to disrupt the relay. Police said one was Japanese and the other from another Asian country.

The non-Japanese man who was arrested was heard screaming at the top of his lungs in English, "Free Tibet!", as police tackled him down and carried him away.

Demonstrators also threw trash, an egg and flares towards the torch at different points, briefly holding up the relay. No arrests were reported in those incidents.

More than 3,000 police were deployed in Nagano, the site of the 1998 Winter Olympics, which has raised security to a level usually accorded to Emperor Akihito.