Japan Challenges China on Tibet

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda told a visiting Chinese official that Tibet was an international issue and that the Dalai Lama is not to blame for the protests broiling the region. This counters China's claim that Tibet is an exclusively domestic matter. Japan is the only Asian country to make this claim. Japan has already refused the paramilitary Olympic flame guards, signaling its displeasure. Next month Hu Jintao visits Fukuda.