World Tibet Network News Wednesday, March 25, 1998

OSAKA, March 25 (Kyodo) -- The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, will visit Japan on April 3-12, his first visit in three years, members of a Kyoto-based religious organization said Wednesday.

The Dalai Lama will attend events such as a reception in Kyoto and a welcoming reception in Tokyo on April 11, according to the members.

The 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner has made five visits to Japan so far, the last time being in March 1995.

The Dalai Lama, revered as a living god among Tibetan Buddhists, fled from Chinese-occupied Tibet to India in 1959, and has been calling for the protection of Tibetan autonomy and culture.

Beijing views the Dalai Lama's activities as subversive, with the intention of ending Chinese rule over the Tibetan region.

Tibet and the Dalai Lama have drawn more attention recently following the production of movies in the United States such as "Seven Years in Tibet" and "Kundun," which touch on the life of the Dalai Lama.