Jan. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, said his government remains concerned about China's test firing a missile into space earlier this month to destroy an obsolete satellite.

``China's explanations about the incident haven't wiped out our concerns,'' Abe said in parliament today. ``We will continue to seek a fuller explanation.'' Abe later said China should increase its military spending transparency.

China told the U.S. that the missile test was ``not meant as a threat,'' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on Jan. 23. The U.S., U.K. and Australia raised concerns with China after the test and said debris from the destroyed weather satellite could be dangerous to other space installations.

Abe's comments today came as Asia's two biggest economies are arranging a visit to Japan by China's Premier Wen Jiabao. The date hasn't been set, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hakubun Shimomura said today, contradicting an NHK Television report that Wen will come for five days beginning on April 11. NHK didn't say where it obtained the information.

``China should increase transparency in its military spending to erase concerns in the international community,'' Abe said in a parliament. ``We hope to build up a strategic partnership with China to benefit both countries.''

Wen's visit will be the first by a top Chinese leader in six and half years. Abe went to Beijing in October, improving ties between Asia's two biggest economies. Relations between the two countries deteriorated after former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated trips to a Tokyo shrine where war criminals are among those memorialized.

To contact the reporter on this story: Keiichi Yamamura in Tokyo at kyamamura@bloomberg.netKiyori Ueno in Tokyo at kueno2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 31, 2007 03:10 EST