Japan on Friday hit back at China and South Korea, calling suggestions that they could jointly mark Tokyo's wartime wrongs "utterly unhelpful" as tensions over issues of history shift alliances in East Asia.
The comments came after Chinese President Xi Jinping and his South Korean counterpart, Park Geun-Hye, reportedly discussed at their summit in Seoul on Thursday, the idea of joining hands to commemorate the 70th anniversary next year of Japan's defeat in World War II.
At a regular press conference in Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said such moves were divisive.