Dalai Lama arrives in Japan for speaking tour

Friday, June 18, 2010

AFP
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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama (L) exchanges greetings with Japanese monks from Zenkoji temple (R) upon his arrival at the Narita international airport, suburban Tokyo , on June 18, 2010 . The Dalai Lama arrived for a ten-day visit to Japan during which he will attend a Buddhist ceremonial service at Nagano's Zenkoji temple on June 19.(Photo: Getty Images)

TOKYO — Tibetan exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama arrived in Japan Friday for a speaking tour that starts at the weekend, the latest of his visits that have upset China in the past.

He will speak to the media on Saturday and give a public lecture Sunday at an indoor sports arena in Nagano prefecture, hosted by monks of the Zenkoji Buddhist temple.

He will then offer a lecture on Buddhism Tuesday in Ishikawa prefecture, followed by a sermon and a speech on June 26 in Yokohama, south of Tokyo.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who has lived in India since fleeing China in 1959, occasionally visits Japan for lectures and to meet his supporters.

China considers the Dalai Lama a separatist leader stoking civil disobedience among Tibetan people.

There was no immediate plan for him to hold talks with Japanese political leaders, who usually refrain from meeting him.