Chinese shares close higher Friday

China's major stock indexes closed higher on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 2.91 percent to reach 3261.56 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 4.71 percent higher at 10,357.68 points.

The combined turnover of the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses reached around 2.1 trillion yuan (about 294.31 billion U.S. dollars), up from 1.49 trillion yuan recorded on the previous trading day.

Over 5,100 stocks ended higher, with those related to semiconductors and brokerages leading the gains.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 7.95 percent to close at 2,195.1 points on the day.

Hundreds of Japanese residents gathered in front of the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on Thursday evening, demanding that Sanae Takaichi retract her recent erroneous remarks regarding China's Taiwan region.

At a Diet meeting on Nov. 7, Takaichi claimed that the Chinese mainland's "use of force on Taiwan" could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan and implied the possibility of armed intervention in the Taiwan Strait, which has immediately drawn strong criticism at home and abroad.

Holding placards and banners that read "Against war" and "Takaichi resign", the protesters chanted "We don't want a prime minister who incites war! Takaichi, withdraw your remarks immediately! The Takaichi administration must step down now!"

"Stop military expansion! Stop missile deployment immediately!" the protesters also shouted.

"What exactly is Takaichi thinking? Isn't she pushing Japan into war? I believe she must retract her statements immediately. From a diplomatic perspective, as a member of Japan's Diet, she utterly lacks basic common sense. As a Japanese citizen, I truly find her behavior shameful," said a protester.

Takaichi's provocative remarks regrading Taiwan has constituted a serious challenge to Japan's pacifist constitution and its legal obligations as a defeated country in World War II, said the protesters.

"Japan inflicted tremendous harm on Asian countries during the Asia-Pacific War [of World War II]. That is precisely why we pledged 'Never again to wage war, never again to possess weapons,' and established the crucial Article 9 of our Constitution. Therefore, we absolutely cannot accept Takaichi's provocative remarks against China," said another protester.

The Constitution of Japan was enacted in 1947 and is known as the pacifist postwar constitution. The cornerstone of the constitution is Article 9, which renounces the nation's right to engage in war or to resort to military force to resolve international conflicts.

For decades, this article has been a fundamental constraint on Japan's military endeavors.

"Japan has the pacifist constitution and must absolutely not head towards war. We must return to this fundamental principle. Takaichi must immediately stop and retract her remarks. She must apologize, resign and take responsibility for the mistake," said a Japanese protester.