Japan should have the courage to play a constructive role in realizing a mutually acceptable solution with China for Tibetan autonomy, an envoy to the Dalai Lama said Wednesday in Tokyo.

Kelsang Gyaltsen, the Dalai Lama's representative in Europe and one of Tibet's negotiators with Beijing, said the Japanese public has shown great support for the Tibetan people and its refugees but its government remains hesitant to take a stand.

As a democratic state, Japan should "reflect the public sentiment of the Japanese population," he said at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, adding that the situation in Tibet is an Asian political issue over which Tokyo has a strong influence.