Japanese who feel "close" to China lowest in 20 years, survey

A latest survey by the Japanese Cabinet on diplomacy-related public opinions showed that the percentage of Japanese people who "feel close to China" dropped 10.3 percentage points from last year to 37.6 percent this year, the lowest since this survey began in 1975, according to Kyodo News reports.

The survey showed that the percentage of people "don't feel close to China" surged to 58.2 percent, (compared with 48.0 percent of the previous time). Japanese who believe Japan and China are enjoying "good relations" dropped sharply to 28.1 percent, 18.8 percentage points lower than the 46.9 percent of the previous one.

The survey again confirmed the current situation of hot economic ties but cold political relations between Japan and China, Kyodo News analyzed.

On the other hand, Japanese people's feeling of closeness towards the ROK rose 1.7 percentage points to reach 56.7 percent, a record high in history. There were 55.5 percent of people who believe Japan-ROK relations are "quite good".

The Japanese sense of closeness towards the United States dropped 4 percentage points to stand at 71.8 percent, and those who think Japan-US ties are "quite good" also dropped slightly from 79.1 percent to 76.7 percent.

The percentage of Japanese who feel close to Russia decreased from 20.0 percent to current 16.3 percent.

Besides, 62.6 percent surveyed support Japan's attempt to become a permanent member of UN Security Council, and 16.0 percent opposed. Among these opponents, the percentage of those believing "Japan can make full contribution to the world in non-military areas even without becoming a permanent member of the Security Council" rose 7.5 percentage points.

The survey is reportedly conducted among 3,000 adults, 68.9 percent of them answered all questions.

By People's Daily Online