Japan responsible for current difficulties in China-Japan ties: Chinese spokesman

Japan bears the full responsibility for the current difficulties in China-Japan relationship, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Friday.

"The China-Japan relationship currently faces severe difficulties, and the responsibility for this lies entirely with Japan," Guo told reporters.

"Nearly a year ago, the Japanese leader made erroneous remarks regarding Taiwan, openly sending the wrong signal of attempting to intervene militarily in the Taiwan question. This challenged China's sovereignty and shook the political foundation of China-Japan relations. Regrettably, a year has passed, yet the Japanese authorities are still going in circles, dodging the issue and failing to show any sincerity or take action to reflect on their mistakes and correct them," he said.

"Regarding China-Japan relations, China's position has been consistent. We must emphasize again that for Japan, the immediate task is to correct its erroneous words and actions on the Taiwan question as soon as possible. The important thing is to adopt a correct attitude toward historical issues, and the fundamental issue is to be truly objective and rational in its perception of China," Guo added.

Tokyo stocks closed lower on Friday amid renewed concerns that tighter artificial intelligence regulations could curb investment in data centers following the U.S. midterm elections.

The benchmark Nikkei stock index, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average, lost 3,643.13 points, or 5.96 percent, to close at 57,434.77.

The broader Topix index, meanwhile, finished 232.40 points, or 5.90 percent, lower at 3,707.99 points.

Tokyo stocks tracked overnight losses on Wall Street, where technology shares tumbled amid concerns that Democratic gains in the U.S. midterm elections could lead to tighter restrictions on data center construction, while broader selling across the Japanese market reflected growing uncertainty over the economic and political outlook, analysts said.