Nagano douses torch-guard offering from China

NAGANO (Kyodo) The Nagano Prefectural Police have rejected an offer by China to send security personnel to escort the Olympic torch during its relay through the city of Nagano on April 26, informed sources said Saturday.

The organizing committee for the summer Olympics has asked the local police several times to accept around seven of the security guards, who are known for their blue tracksuits. But Japan has turned down the proposal and said it will take responsibility for securing the event, which is being targeted by peace activists protesting China's bloody crackdown on Tibet, the sources said.

The Japanese government is known for having a policy of not accepting Chinese security personnel, but this is the first time that the fact that China actually proposed the idea and Japan actually rejected it has been revealed. Japan, however, plans to allow two Chinese officials to run alongside the torchbearers. They will be responsible for relighting the flame in case it is extinguished.

According to the sources, officials from the Beijing Olympics Committee arrived in Nagano on Wednesday to check the relay route.

During the process, they have asked the Nagano Prefectural Police to allow seven security guards to escort the torchbearer, they said.

Under the current plan, dozens of police officers wearing sportswear will escort the torch through the city, which was the venue for the 1998 winter Olympics.

They will surround the point at which torchbearers pass it on to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

But depending on the situation, the police may also increase the number of security guards, the sources said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura told a news conference on Thursday that it does not have to rely on other countries to maintain security.

Amnesty International opened a panel exhibition in Tokyo on Saturday to pressure the Chinese government into improving its human rights record ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games in August.

Visitors to the two-day exhibition at Yoyogi Park in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, are being asked to sign a banner calling for China to respect human rights and to write demands to the Chinese government.