A recent survey released by the Japanese Cabinet Office on Friday (February 14) showed that 88.1% of respondents believe that the bilateral relationship between Japan and China is “not good” or “not very good”.
The survey, conducted from October 17 to November 24 in 2024, targeted 3,000 Japanese citizens aged 18 and above. Out of these, 1,734 respondents (57.8%) provided valid responses.
Despite 88.1% of respondents expressing dissatisfaction with the Japan-China relationship, 70.2% still consider it to be “important” or “quite important”.
The survey also revealed that 84.9% of respondents feel “friendly” or “quite friendly” towards the United States.
In recent years, Japan-China relations have deteriorated due to aggressive provocations by the Chinese Communist Party in the Indo-Pacific region. Japan, in addition to increasing its defense budget, has actively cultivated its relationship with the United States to seek security protection from the US.
The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized in its annual diplomatic bluebook released on April 16, 2024, that China’s ongoing military actions in the South China Sea and East China Sea have placed Japan’s security environment in the most severe post-war period.
On February 7, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met with US President Donald Trump. The two leaders agreed to enhance security cooperation and strongly oppose China’s attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea by using force or coercion. They also expressed firm opposition to China’s illegal maritime claims and provocative actions in the South China Sea.
Furthermore, the survey results released by the Japanese government on Friday also indicated that 92.2% of respondents believe that Japan’s relationship with Russia is “not good” or “not very good”. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Japan joined Western countries in imposing sanctions against Russia.
The survey also showed that 51.2% of Japanese people consider the bilateral relationship with South Korea to be “good” or “quite good”, an increase of 5.1 percentage points from the 2023 survey.
A Japanese Foreign Ministry official stated that many Japanese people believe that the relationship between Japan and South Korea has improved since Yoon Suk-yeol took office as the South Korean President in 2022. Additionally, cultural exchanges such as the popularity of South Korean K-POP among the younger generation in Japan have also driven forward Japan-Korea relations.
This survey in Japan was conducted before Yoon Suk-yeol suddenly declared martial law in December last year. Yoon Suk-yeol has been accused of leading a rebellion by South Korean investigative authorities after announcing the martial law declaration.