More than 80 percent of Chinese and South Korean respondents to
a recent survey oppose Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's
visits to Yasukuni Shrine and Japan's bid to become a permanent
member of the UN Security Council.??
The Kyodo News survey also found that overall sentiment toward
Japan is spiraling downward. Eighty-three percent of respondents in
China said they do not have a favorable opinion of Japan, up from
67 percent in a 2002 survey. The figure was 75 percent in South
Korea this time, up from 69 percent three years ago.
The worsening sentiment apparently reflects Japan's soured
relations with the two nations due to Koizumi's annual visits to
the war-related Shinto shrine, territorial rows and disputes over
Japanese history textbooks.
At the same time, respondents in all three countries picked
China as the top candidate to become the core of the Asian economy
in the future.
The survey was conducted in May with 1,000 respondents in both
China and Japan and 1,051 in South Korea.
Eighty-six percent of the Chinese respondents and 82 percent of
the South Koreans said Koizumi should not visit Yasukuni.
In Japan, 41 percent of the respondents said the prime minister
should desist, but 31 percent said he should pay homage at the
Tokyo shrine.
Asked about Japan's aspiration to become a permanent member of
the U.N. Security Council, 87 percent in China and 85 percent in
South Korea said they are against it. Only 7 percent in China and 8
percent in South Korea said they are for it.
In Japan, 67 percent of the respondents said they support the
bid, and 20 percent said they oppose it.
On the Japanese respondents' sentiment toward the two
neighboring countries, 48 percent said they feel a great deal or a
certain degree of closeness to China, down by 6 percentage points
from the 2002 survey, while 58 percent said they feel closeness to
South Korea, up 5 percentage points.
The increase in favorable feelings toward South Korea apparently
stems from a boom of South Korean culture in Japan, especially TV
dramas.
Asked about future relations between Japan and China, 22 percent
of the Japanese expect improvement, compared with 21 percent who
said they do not.
In China, 39 percent of the respondents said they do not think
ties between the two nations will improve, against 30 percent who
think they will.
On future ties between Japan and South Korea, 43 percent of the
Japanese said relations will get better, but 48 percent in South
Korea think the relationship will not improve.
The survey indicates that Chinese and South Korean people
consider history issues as hindering better ties with Japan, with
57 percent of the South Korean respondents saying matters
concerning Japan's perception of history need to be resolved for a
better bilateral relationship.
In China, 42 percent of the respondents said Japanese
compensation and an apology for past acts would be essential to
improve bilateral ties.
Other Asian countries, including China and South Korea, suffered
from Japanese aggression before and during World War II.
(Chinadaily.com.cn via agencies, June 20, 2005)