Japan PM wants to attend Olympic ceremony

A South African has made history by being a torch bearer in China

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said he would like to attend the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics, although the final decision has yet to be made, a spokesperson quoted him as saying today.

Attending the August ceremony would be a friendly gesture to Beijing amid international criticism of its crackdown on Tibet, and his comments came days ahead of a visit by a President Hu Jintao, the first by a Chinese president to Japan in a decade.

"It would be good if I could go," Fukuda told reporters.

An official announcement of his attendance could be made during Hu's visit, Kyodo news agency quoted government officials as saying. It would be the first time in 20 years a Japanese prime minister has attended an Olympic opening ceremony, Kyodo said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said he might not attend the opening ceremony if there is no progress on the issue of Tibet, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she would not go.

Tibet is expected to be one of the prickliest issues during Hu's visit from May 6-10, seen as a symbol of warming ties after years of tension over a range of problems, many linked to the two countries' wartime past.

Fukuda told visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi last month that Tibet had become an international issue, challenging Beijing's assertions that it is a domestic matter.

Beijing has since said it would hold talks with envoys of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, whom it blames for recent unrest. - Reuters