A Buddhist temple in the central Japanese city of Nagano has withdrawn as the starting venue of the Japanese leg of the Olympic torch relay.
A spokeswoman for the Zenkoji Temple said the decision was in protest of China's suppression of the Tibetan people, who are primarily Buddhist. The Nagano city government accepted the monks' wish and has made major changes to the route in anticipation of possible protests. The symbol of the Beijing 2008 Games has been met with strong protests in Europe and the US. The Olympic flame is currently in Bangkok, Thailand on the latest stop of its world tour.
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