TOKYO - A RARE visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao to Japan, meant to showcase warming ties between the Asian powers, may be delayed, a senior Japanese official said on Wednesday.

Major Japanese newspapers have reported that Mr Hu's visit was likely to be delayed from April to May because of the fall-out from a food scare over Chinese-made dumplings that made at least 10 Japanese people ill.

A senior foreign ministry official acknowledged that a delay was possible but blamed scheduling problems, including a busy period for the imperial family in April.

'Unlike some media reports, it's nothing to do with the issue of the dumpling,' he told reporters on condition of anonymity.

China, whose rapid economic growth is based on its exports, has rejected Japanese suggestions that the dumplings were contaminated at a factory near Beijing and complained of a rush to judgement.

The row has cast a shadow over reconciliation efforts between the two countries, whose relations were tense just a few years ago.

'We have never thought about linking the dumpling issue to President Mr Hu's visit to Japan,' the Japanese foreign ministry official said.

'At least at the top political level, China has a strong desire to resolve the issue as soon as possible,' he said.

Mr Hu would be only the second Chinese president to visit Japan and the first in 10 years.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who took office in September, has been known throughout his career for advocating warmer ties with China.

He is an outspoken opponent of visits to the Yasukuni shrine, seen by China as a symbol of Japan's militarist past as it enshrines 2.5 million war dead, including war criminals.

Mr Junichiro Koizumi went to the shrine each year during his 2001-2006 premiership, angering China and South Korea.