Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama has pointed to what he called China's "ruthless policy" as prompting the recent deaths of Tibetan monks who set themselves on fire in protest.

He called on Beijing to change its approach to ruling over the Himalayan region.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was speaking during a trip to Japan to visit victims of this year's devastating tsunami.

At least nine Tibetans in their late teens and 20s have self-immolated since March in protest at Chinese rule. Many Tibetans consider the Dalai Lama as their rightful leader.

Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of encouraging the immolations.

The Dalai Lama fled the Himalayan region in 1959 amid an abortive anti-Beijing uprising and is reviled by China's communist government.

"For their own interest, not just the interest for certain sort of problem here and there, but for the whole country's sort of future, they have to act (with a) realistic sort of policy," he told reporters at a Tokyo hotel today.

The self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile has described the self-immolations as tragic acts and called for the international community to urge Beijing to open a dialogue on its policies in Tibet and traditionally Tibetan regions of western China.

"Actually, the local leader must look what's the real causes of death," the Dalai Lama said of China. "It's their own sort of wrong policy, ruthless policy, illogical policy."