By Rosie Kusunoki Jones
When the Dalai Lama visited Washington in February, President Barack Obama hosted him at the White House. During the exiled Tibetan leader’s week-long visit to Tokyo starting this Sunday, “His Holiness has no plans to meet any political figures,” according to spokesman Tsewang Gyalpo Arya.
The Dalai’s Lama’s non-visit with Prime Minister Naoto Kan is not the first time he has been shunned by a Japanese leader. The Dalai Lama was also given a wide berth by Yukio Hatoyama when visiting last November, although it was reported that Mr. Hatoyama sent an unofficial message to him through a member of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and an accompanying group of policy makers.
An official at the foreign ministry’s China and Mongolia division told JRT: “The Dalai Lama only visits Japan for religious purposes and so there has never been an opportunity for him to meet with a Japanese prime minister in an official capacity.” When asked if this was for fear of angering Beijing, the official declined to comment.
The DPJ has advocated closer ties with China. Chinese Premier Wen Jibao visited Tokyo late last month, shortly before Mr. Hatoyama’s resignation, and has already invited the new Japanese prime minister to visit China — and invitation Mr. Kan has accepted.
Although the official purpose of the Dalai Lama’s trip may be religious and cultural, his visit to Zenkoji on June 20, a 7th century temple in Nagano, carries political overtones. The temple became the centrer of an international media furor two years ago when it refused to host the Japan leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay. This was in protest against the religious clashes taking place in Tibet at the time.
