''No concrete time frame has been set,'' Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda told reporters.

Fukuda dismissed the notion that rows over Koizumi's contentious visit to Yasukuni Shrine have affected work to set the schedule.

The two countries have actually talked little about Koizumi's trip to China, Fukuda added.

Fukuda's remarks came after a report that Koizumi has decided to cancel a visit to China that was planned in the fall.

The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper on Friday said Koizumi's visit to China was canceled partly because China has blasted the Japanese premier's paying homage to the shrine, which honors Japanese war criminals along with war dead.

The daily also said the date for Koizumi's visit to China has yet to be named because the schedule for a Chinese Communist Party leadership convention has yet to be finalized.