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Page last updated at 11:28 GMT, Wednesday, 29 October 2008

Prince visits Japan temple site

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall outside a Buddhist temple in Japan
The couple's tour of East Asia takes in Japan, Brunei and Indonesia

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have paid their respects at a World Heritage Site Buddhist temple during a five-day tour of Japan.

They joined hundreds of visitors at the centuries-old Todaiji Temple, in the southern city of Nara, that holds a vast bronze statue of the Buddha.

The 50ft (15m) icon, which sits inside the world's largest wooden structure, is more than 1,000 years old.

The couple posed for pictures with the chief abbot Dozen Ueno before entering.

The prince and the duchess burned incense before an altar at the feet of the statue.

Many of Japan's population follow the country's main religions of Buddhism and Shintoism.




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