Tokyo - Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said he wants to attend the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony in August, media reports said Friday.

Fukuda said he hoped to attend the ceremony but would wait to finalize his decision until he meets with visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao next week, Jiji Press reported.

On Hu's visit to Japan, Fukuda was expected to discuss Beijing's plan to hold talks with representatives of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

Hu was scheduled to arrive Tuesday for a five-day visit at a time of warming relations between Beijing and Tokyo.

Bilateral ties reached an all-time low under former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, who left office in 2006. Koizumi caused outrage in China with his annual visits to the Yasukuni Shrine honouring Japan's war dead, including war criminals indicted of atrocities in China.

Ties frozen at the time have warmed significantly and reached a high point in December when the more China-friendly Fukuda visited Beijing.

Fukuda's attendance at the Olympic ceremony on August 8 would be the first time a Japanese leader would appear at the opening ceremony since prime minister Noboru Takeshita attended the one in Seoul in 1988.

Some world leaders from countries such as Britain, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic have decided not to attend the ceremony while others said their attendance would depend on China's handling of the Tibet issue after it came under criticism for its reaction to demonstrations and unrest in Tibet and other Tibetan-populated areas of China in March. (dpa)