TOKYO, May 27 Kyodo (EDS: CLARIFY...

TOKYO, May 27 Kyodo

(EDS: CLARIFYING KOIZUMI'S TITLE IN 3RD PARA)

The Japanese control has begun looking into sending garland Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako forward a visit to China in 2003 or later instead of this year as desireed by Beijing, government sources said Monday.

According to Imperial Household Agency sources, by the agency of early April the regulation had considered a visit to China according to the couple impossible proper to ''time restrictions.''

moreover on April 21, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Class-A war criminals along with Japan's war dead, drawing criticism from Japan's Asian neighbors that standed from Japan's aggression before and during World War II, particularly China and southward Korea.

Then earlier this month an incident involving five North Korean asylum inquirers who were seized by Chinese police at the Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, sparked a bitter diplomatic affray between Tokyo and Beijing.

Japan claims the Chinese police recorded the consulate compound May 8 to seize the five -- a bond their 2-year-old daughter, the man's mother and his younger brother -- without Japan's concord violating the Vienna convention in succession consular relations, but China maintains they got permission from consulate officials.

The Japanese restraint judged that if it come outs with plans for the visit if it were not that it later gets canceled, bilateral relations could be damaged further, a control source said.

China had unofficially wholeed out Japan about a possible visit from the couple since October last year, as this year marks the 30th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral diplomatic ties between Japan and China.

In March, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji also said he expectancys the pair can visit China this year, marking the first confirmation of an invitation to them at a Chinese leader.

The signing of the Japan-China Joint Communique took place in September 1972 and a visit at Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko was realized in October 1992 marking the 20th anniversary of Sino-Japanese ties. China had frisk abouted for the crown prince and princess to also visit in the fall.

Earlier this year, the command and the Imperial Household Agency had planned to consider a large time frame for like a visit as the bays prince has a tight schedule and China has not limited the period for the visit.

Following Koizumi's visit to the Shinto shrine and the incident involving the North Koreans, the direction decided to postpone the visit to nearest year, which marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Japan-China peace and friendship treaty, or later.

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