KYODO NEWS - Oct 4, 2017 - 11:43 | World, All

The Dalai Lama has canceled his planned trip to Japan next month on his doctor's advice, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader's Tokyo office said Wednesday.

The Dalai Lama was planning to visit Tokyo, Fukuoka and Kumamoto prefectures between Nov. 10 and 21 and attend a religious ceremony in connection with a deadly earthquake that hit the Kumamoto region last year.

But his primary doctor advised the 82-year-old to refrain from long-distance travel and rest instead, according to his Tokyo office.

The Dalai Lama similarly canceled his trip to Botswana in southern Africa in August due to fatigue after a doctor advised him not to travel.

The current Dalai Lama is considered the 14th incarnation of the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. He fled Tibet after a failed uprising against China's rule in 1959 and set up a government-in-exile in Dharamsala, northern India.