Lads like them would do any country proud

When I got on board the coach from Osaka to Nagano at 10 pm April 25, I had no idea I was with a group of people heading to support the torch relay scheduled for the following morning.

The supporters for the Beijing Olympic Games torch relay, mostly students of the Osaka University, impressed me as business people from a big corporation, going for a certain project. They solemnly went around, checking your ID, health insurance certificate, and other documents, as if preparing some experiment in a lab.

"We must guarantee that every participant of this activity has the legal identity so as to give no excuse for any possible accusations," says Ke Chenfeng, an engineering major.