Record high 28% regard Japan-U.S. relations as not good: Japan survey

TOKYO, Dec. 6 Kyodo -
The percentage of Japanese who think Japan-U.S. relations are ''not good'' or
''not so good'' hit 28.1 percent, the highest since the question was added in
1998 to the annual survey, according to a recent Cabinet Office poll released
Saturday.
The figure in the interview-based survey taken in October was up 7.7 percentage
points from a year earlier.
Proportionately, the lowest-ever percentage, 68.9 percent, regard relations
between Japan and the United States as good or relatively good, down 7.4 points
from a year before.
''The result may reflect Japanese worries over the U.S. delisting of North
Korea from state sponsors of terrorism,'' a government official said, while
noting that the delisting took place in the middle of the survey period and
that it is not clear how much influence the move had on the poll.
The percentage of respondents who said they do not feel friendly toward China
rose to a record high of 66.6 percent since the type of question was added in
1978, while that of respondents who answered to the contrary dropped to the
lowest ever at 31.8 percent.
The government official attributed the trend to the Japanese public's mounted
fear of Chinese-made products, which made major headlines many times this year
because of contamination and food poisoning incidents, such as Chinese-made
frozen dumplings that sickened 10 people in Japan.
Meanwhile, a record high of 57.1 percent of respondents said they feel an
affinity with South Korea, apparently amid increased exchanges between the
countries and the launch in February of a new administration under President
Lee Myung Bak, according to the government official.
About one-third, or 29.1 percent, answered that they feel friendly toward
African nations, up from 24.9 percent in its previous biennially listed
question in 2006.
''The improvement presumably mirrors active discussions over African
development carried out before and after the TICAD in May,'' the official said,
referring to a Tokyo International Conference on African Development meeting in
Yokohama.
Apparently for the same reason, the percentage of those who think Japan should
actively provide economic assistance to other nations also increased to 30.4
percent from 24.8 percent.
In a multiple answer question over issues of interest concerning North Korea,
the abduction of Japanese nationals in the late 1970s and early 1980s remained
the top with 88.1 percent citing the issue, while as much as 40.4 percent
expressed interest over the issue of North Korean defectors.
The proportion of respondents who were opposed to Japan's bid to become a
permanent member of the U.N. Security Council was the lowest ever of 8.7
percent since the government began that question in 1994.
Of the opponents to the bid, the largest, 31.6 percent, said Japan is able to
make enough contributions to the international community without becoming a
permanent member on nonmilitary areas such as economic, social and
environmental problems.
The survey was conducted from Oct. 9 to 19 among 3,000 people aged 20 or older
with 60.9 percent responding.
==Kyodo
2008-12-06 21:57:15