The percentage of Japanese who do not feel friendly toward China has reached a record high of 83.2 percent, a government survey showed Saturday, amid China's assertive moves in the East and South China seas.

Despite a recent thaw in bilateral relations between Japan and China, the result marked a slight deterioration in sentiment. In the previous survey in 2014, the percentage stood at 83.1 percent, the highest since the government began taking a survey of the kind in 1978.

The Cabinet Office said 14.8 percent said they feel friendly toward China, unchanged from 2014.