More than three out of four Japanese think that relations with
China should be improved, according to a Japanese foreign ministry
survey released on Wednesday.
Asked if Japan-China ties should be improved, 77.9 percent of
respondents gave positive answers, while 12 percent said the
current situation between the two countries was fine, the survey on
Japanese people's awareness of Japan-China relations showed.
On the question of what problems stand between the two
countries, 58.9 percent chose "history recognition and other issues
relating to the past," referring to Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi's visits to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine and Japanese
history textbooks. Meanwhile, 32.1 percent said "lack of mutual
understanding between the people of the two countries."
Close to half of the people surveyed are optimistic about
relationship between the two neighbors in 20 years, with 12.3
percent saying Japan and China will have deepened relations as
cooperative partners, and 34.2 percent saying ties will generally
get better but friction will also increase.
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On Japan's diplomacy with China, nearly half of the respondents
said that the priority is to develop overall friendly ties from a
comprehensive viewpoint.
The survey was conducted by interviewing 2,000 people across
Japan aged 20 and up on Feb. 10-13. Among them, 65.7 percent of the
interviewees, or 1,314 people, provided valid answers.
(Xinhua News Agency March 30, 2006)
