In Cooperation with:
Japan：Public Opinion Research Institute Corporation
South Korea: Hankook Research Co.Ltd
/ July 2014
Survey Overview
Between May and July 2014, Japanese nonprofit organization The Genron NPO and East Asia Institute (EAI) have conducted joint public opinion polls targeting the Japanese and South Korean public. The objective of this survey is to continue monitoring the state of mutual understanding and awareness of the Japanese and South Korean public, in order to contribute closing the gap in the awareness between the two societies, promoting mutual understanding.
The result of this survey will also be reported and utilized in the private-sector dialogue between Japan and South Korea (Japan-Korea Future Dialogue), which was established last year aiming to improve the relationship between the two countries.
The opinion poll in Japan was conducted from May 31 to June 22, through the door-to-door home-visit method targeting the men and women over the age of 18 (excluding high school students). The number of total valid responses obtained was 1,000. The final academic qualifications of respondents were as follows: elementary/middle school certificate 12.4%, high school certificate 48.4%, junior college/technical college certificate 19.3%, university bachelor's degree 17.3%, and university master's degree or above 1.2%.
On the other hand, the opinion poll in South Korea was conducted from June 10 to 26, through a method of face-to-face interviewing targeting men and women over the age of 19. The number of total valid responses obtained was 1,004. The final academic qualifications of respondents were as follows: lower than elementary school certificate 8.9%, middle school certificate 7.3%, high school certificate 34.4%, university/college student (currently studying or quit school) 15.2%, university bachelor's degree 31.8%, and university master's degree or above 2.5%.
At the same time, between the early June to the end of June, the Genron NPO and EAI have conducted an additional survey targeting intellectuals in Japan and South Korea. On the Japanese side, the same questionnaires were sent to approximately 6,000 domestic intellectuals who have previously participated in discussion and surveys organized by Tthe Genron NPO. Among those, answers were obtained from 633 intellectuals. On the South Korean side, questionnaires composed of 25 questions which were excerpted from the questionnaires were sent to approximately 5,000 intellectuals by email. Among those, answers were obtained from 424 intellectuals. Those respondents are considered to represent a stratum of well-rounded intellectuals in Japan and South Korea. The survey targeting intellectuals is designed to complement the results from the general public opinion poll.
1-1. Impressions on One Another's Country Among the Japanese and South Korean Public
The impression of South Korea among the Japanese public was further aggravated. Although the impression of Japan among the South Korean public had slightly improved, 70% still had negative impression on Japan.
The percentage of Japanese respondents who answered that they had a "favorable" impression or "relatively favorable" impression of South Korea remained at 20.5%, while the percentage of those who had an "unfavorable" or "relatively unfavorable" impression reached 54.4%, which was 17.1 points higher than the last year's result (37.3%). On the other hand, the percentage of South Korean respondents had a "good" or "relatively good" impression of Japan was 17.2%, which had improved in comparison with last year's result. The percentage of those who answered that they had an "unfavorable" or "relatively unfavorable" impression was 70.9, which was 5.7 points higher than last year's result, yet around 70% of them had a negative impression on Japan.
【Chart 1 Impression of One Another's Countries】
1-2. Reasons Behind the Impressions Between the Two Countries
Historical issue and territorial dispute had negative impact on mutual impressions.
As for the reason why the South Korean public had unfavorable impressions of Japan, over 70% of the respondents answered "Inadequate repentance over the history of invasion" and "Continuing conflicts on the issue of Dokdo" respectively. "Unfavorable words and actions by Japanese politicians" was over 20%. In comparison, the Japanese raised the concern with "criticism of Japan over historical issues" at 73.9%, which was much higher than last year (55.8%).
As for the reason for positive impression, "Interest in South Korean TV drama and music" was raised as most by Japanese respondents, and the South Korean side, "Japanese people are kind and earnest" and "Japan is a developed country with a high living standard" were the major reasons. "Both countries are democratic" did not reach 20%, and it was not directly linked to positive impressions of one another's countries.
【Chart 2 Reasons for Negative Impressions】
1-3. Change in Impression of One Another's Countries Over the Past Year
More than 50% of Japanese respondents and more than 40% of South Korean respondents answered their impressions of one another's countries had "Worsened".
Regarding the impressions of one another's countries over the past year, the percentage of Japanese respondents who answered that it had "worsened" (including "greatly worsened" and "relatively worsened"), was 52.6%, which was 13 points higher than that of last year. On the South Korean side, respondents who answered "worsened" (same as the above) was 46.7%, which was on the same level as last year. Meanwhile, those respondents who choose "no substantial change" was 42.6% (52.9% last year) among Japanese, and 50.1% (29.7% last year) among South Korean respondents, and there was no sign of improvement of the trend.
【Chart 3 Changes in Impression of One Another's Countries】
1-4. Awareness of Issues on Current National Sentiment between Japan and South Korea
60% of Japanese respondents and about 70% of South Korean respondents think that the worsening national sentiment is "undesirable" and "problem".
Regarding the worsening national sentiment, 29.8% of Japanese respondents answered that "this is an undesirable situation, I have concerns". Moreover, over 31.4% of Japanese respondents also answered that "there is a problem and it needs to be resolved". On the other hand, although South Korean respondents who answered that "this is an undesirable situation, I have concerns" is 23.3%, almost half of the respondents (46.4%) answered that "there is a problem and it needs to be resolved". In total, 69.7% of the Japanese and South Korean respondents consider the current national sentiment as a problem. Those who answered that worsening national sentiment was "the situation is natural and can be understood" remained at about 20% on both Japan and South Korea sides.
【Chart 4 Recognition of Current Situation between Japan and South Korea】
2-1. Current Status of Mutual Understanding
The Japanese public perceives South Korea through its culture and recent events. The South Korean public perceives Japan through territorial dispute and history.
In response to the question "what will come up when one another's countries are mentioned?" Japanese respondents showed various interests, such as "Korean cuisine" (46.0%), "Korean TV drama and K-POP" (36.3%) and "sinking of the MV Seoul" (38.2%). Although the "issue of Takeshima Island" (36.7%) and "comfort women" (31.0%) were also significant, the Japanese public opinion is not concentrated on these issues. Whereas, South Korean respondents' answers show their concerns over the conflicts between Japan and South Korea, especially on the "issue of Dokdo" (66.5%) and "comfort women" (55.8%), then followed by "unfavorable words by politicians" (24.3%) and "the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe" (19.7%). The South Korean respondents who answered "Japanese cuisine", "high-quality industrial products", "Mount Fuji", "sakura", "manga/anime" etc. were all remaining at around 10%. In response to the question on "historical events or incidents in Japan and South Korea that you know" the most prevalent answer among the Japanese was "Seoul Olympics" (67.0%), followed by "Japan/South Korea World Cup" (63.0%). On the other hand, the top answers on the South Korean side concentre on the events of World War II. "Japanese invasion of then Korea by Hideyoshi Toyotomi (1592-98)" (86.3%) was the most popular answer, followed by "atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki" and "forced annexation of Korea by Japan", which was 14 points higher than that of last year. In response to the question on "Japanese/South Korean politician that you know", the top answer of the Japanese side was "Park Geun-hye" at 79.8%, which had increased significantly from the last year's 51.9%. On the South Korean side, "Shinzo Abe" was the leading answer at 89.3%, which was 23.1 points higher than last year. While many of the Japanese know other successive presidents of South Korea, only around 10% of the South Korean public knows other successive prime ministers of Japan, except Junichiro Koizumi (55.9%).
【Chart 5 Name Recognition of Politicians in One Another's Countries】
2-2. Awareness of the "Social/Political Systems" of One Another's Countries
Majority of South Korean respondents answered that the current system in Japan is "militarism", while most Japanese respondents answered that the current system in South Korea is "ethnicism".
In regards to the perception of "current social/political system of one another's countries", most of the Japanese respondents (44.8%) consider South Korea as "ethnicism", followed by "nationalist" (32.4%). The Japanese who answered current South Korea as "militarism" was 21.5%. On the other hand, South Korean respondents who answered that currently Japan is "militarism" was the majority answer at 53.1%, which was higher than last year's result, followed by "nationalism" (35.7%), and "democracy" (24.9%). Despite the fact that Japan has been advocating peace and international cooperation to the world since the end of the war, the South Korean who chose "pacifism" remained at 5.3% and "international cooperation" were a mere 3.9% which did not reach even 10% in total.
【Chart 6 Form of Social/Political Systems in Japan/South Korea】
2-3. How the Respective Counties View One Another's National Character
The Japanese public views South Korean as "stubborn", and yet "diligent", "selfish", "belligerent" and "untrustworthy". The South Korean public views the Japanese public as "hardworking", "kind", "creative", yet "selfish".
The national character of the two countries were judged on the basis of 10 factors, whether the respective country is "kind/arrogant", "hardworking/lazy", "pacifist/belligerent", "flexible/stubborn", "trustworthy/ untrustworthy", "honest/dishonest", "creative/imitative", "cooperative/uncooperative", "altruistic/egoistic" and "collectivist/individualist." Regarding one another's national character, the Japanese respondents answered "neither" on 9 out of 10 sections, which indicates that they are unable to give a clear judgment on the national character of the South Korea.
The other section on "stubborn", 51.9% of the Japanese respondents perceive that South Koreans are stubborn (the total of "strongly agree" and "relatively agree", the same shall apply hereafter). More than 40% of the Japanese respondents regarded South Korean as "selfish" (44.7%), "hardworking" (42.9%), "belligerent" (41.3%), "untrustworthy" (41.1%). On the other hand, more than 70% of the South Korean respondents regarded Japanese as "hardworking" (75.6%), "kind" (70.4%), and more than 40% thought Japanese are "selfish" (48.9%) and "creative" (42.1%).
3-1. How Current and Future Japan-South Korea Relations are Viewed
Increase in the proportion of people who consider Japan-South Korea relations as "bad" by 18.7 points in Japan and 10.4 points in South Korea.
On the current Japan-South Korea relations, the Japanese respondents who view the bilateral relations as "extremely good" were merely 5.0% (11.3% last year). On the contrary, people answering that the relationship is "extremely bad" reached 73.8%, which had increased, by 18.7 points from last year's result (55.1%). For South Koreans, "extremely good" was 2.3% (3.4% last year) and "extremely bad" had increased to 77.8% from 67.4% last year.
With regard to the past year, 68.1% of Japanese respondents said Japan-Korea relations had "worsened" (the total of "strongly agree" and "relatively agree", the same shall apply hereafter) was 68.1%. Similarly, 63.2% (53.9% last year) of South Korean respondents said had "worsened".
On the future of Japan-South Korea relations, the ratios of people who thought the situation would show "No change" from the current difficult state were close to 40% for South Korea and more than 30% for Japan and it was the most popular view in both countries. Furthermore, nearly 40% of the South Koreans chose "will get worse" and it has increased by 12.8 points since last year.
【Chart 7 How Current Japan-South Korea Relations are viewed】
【Chart 8 Future Japan-South Korea Relations】
3-2. What Hinders the Development of Bilateral Relations
"Takeshima/Dokdo issue" is prevalent for both countries, but "Anti-Japanese Sentiment in South Korea" matters for Japanese.
Regarding hindrances on the development of bilateral relations, the "Takeshima/Dokdo issue" was prevalent for both countries: 68.9% (83.7% last year) of the Japanese and 92.2% (94.6% last year) of the South Korean chose the answer.
The second most popular answer for the Japanese was the "Anti-Japanese Sentiment in South Korea," which comprised 46.6% (55.1% last year), or almost the half of the respondents, then it was followed by "historical awareness and education in South Korea" with 40.0% (33.8% last year). The second leading opinion in South Korea was "historical awareness and education in Japan," which reached the half-point mark at 52.2% (61.1% last year).
【Chart 9 Barriers to Bilateral Relations】
3-3. How the Importance of Japan-South Korea Relations is Viewed
Japan-South Korea relations are viewd as "important" by more than 60% of Japanese and 73% of South Korean despite the severe climate.
People who consider Japan-South Korea relations as "important" (including "relatively important", the same shall apply hereafter) were the majorities in both Japan (60.0%) and South Korea (73.4%). In Japan, however, there was a significant decrease from the last year's result" (74.0%) by 14 points.
On the reasons behind the recognition of importance in Japan-South Korea relations, majority of Japanese answered that "because South Korea is a neighboring country" at 60.3%. This was followed by "both countries are allies with the United States and cooperation with each other is necessary for the peace and security in the Northeast Asia region" (45.5%) and "as countries in the same Asian region, there are considerable historical and cultural relations" (42.2％).
In South Korea, "because Japan is a neighboring country" was also the leading answer with 60.4%, then it was followed by "both countries are allies with the United States and cooperation with each other is necessary for the peace and security in the Northeast Asia region" (45.0%) and "there are mutual benefits between Japan and South Korea due to the mutual dependency and cooperation in economy and industries" (42.9%).
【Chart 10 Importance of Bilateral Relations Between Japan and South Korea】
3-4. "Importance" and "Affinity" of Japan-South Korea Relations Compared to China
South Koreans feel more affinity to China than Japan, and regard "relations with China as more important".
On the question of importance between Japan-South Korea (South Korea-Japan) and Japan-China (South Korea-China) relations, nearly half of the respondents answered that "both are of the same importance" at 47.0% (49.6% last year) for Japanese and at 47.0% (55.0% last year) for South Koreans. It is also worth noting that the response by South Koreans that "South Korea-China relations are more important" had increased from 35.8% (last year) to 43.8%.
On the question of senses of affinity to one another's countries or to China, the majority of Japanese responded that they feel "more affinity to South Korea" at 37.2% yet it had decreased from 45.5% last year. The second largest answer from Japanese was "no affinity is felt toward either" at 31.8%. On the other hand, South Koreans who responded that they feel "more affinity to Japan" was only 12.3% (13.5% last year). Contrary to this, people who feel "more affinity to China" has reached 38.8% (36.2% last year), which is growing closer to the 40% mark.
【Chart 11 Importance of Japan-Korea (Korea-Japan) Relations and Relations with China】
【Chart 12 Affinity Toward the Respective Countries】
4-1. Are the Japan-South Korea Diplomatic Relations Functioning?
On Japan-South Korea diplomatic relations, more than half of Japanese and 38% of South Koreans think they are "ineffective".
A question was asked whether the Japan-Korea diplomatic relations are effective at present, the response "think that they are ineffective" (including "think that they are relatively ineffective") surpassed more than the half in the Japanese public survey at 54.8%. And also in South Korea "think that they are ineffective" (including "think that they are relatively ineffective") was the majority at 38.7%.
【Chart 13 Effectiveness of Diplomatic Activities Between Respective Governments】
4-2. Necessity of Leaders' Diplomatic Activities and Agendas at Bilateral Talks
About 80% think that leaders' diplomatic activities are necessary in Japan and South Korea, yet 72% of South Koreans say, "the need exists but there is no urgency".
Regarding political leaders' diplomatic activities, about 80% of Japanese and South Koreans think that they are necessary, yet for the timing of diplomatic talks, "the need exists but there is no urgency" polled 40.5% in Japan and 72.4% in South Korea. "Not needed" remained less than 10% in both countries.
On the question of agendas in bilateral talks, 35.6% of Japanese respondents place the major importance over "holistic discussion for betterment of bilateral relationship", while South Koreans regard "issues on historical understandings and "comfort women"" (76.3%) and "territorial dispute over Takeshima/Dokdo island" (70.3%) with the upmost importance. This highlights the high levels of interests in the resolution of issues regarding "history" and "territory".
【Chart 14 Necessity of Leaders' Diplomatic Activities】
4-3. How the Importance of Japan-South Korea Relations is Viewed
Japan-South Korea relations are viewd as "important" by more than 60% of Japanese and 73% of South Korean despite the severe climate.
People who consider Japan-South Korea relations as "important" (including "relatively important", the same shall apply hereafter) were the majorities in both Japan (60.0%) and South Korea (73.4%). In Japan, however, there was a significant decrease from the last year's result" (74.0%) by 14 points.
On the reasons behind the recognition of importance in Japan-South Korea relations, majority of Japanese answered that "because South Korea is a neighboring country" at 60.3%. This was followed by "both countries are allies with the United States and cooperation with each other is necessary for the peace and security in the Northeast Asia region" (45.5%) and "as countries in the same Asian region, there are considerable historical and cultural relations" (42.2％).
In South Korea, "because Japan is a neighboring country" was also the leading answer with 60.4%, then it was followed by "both countries are allies with the United States and cooperation with each other is necessary for the peace and security in the Northeast Asia region" (45.0%) and "there are mutual benefits between Japan and South Korea due to the mutual dependency and cooperation in economy and industries" (42.9%).
【Chart 10 Importance of Bilateral Relations Between Japan and South Korea】
4-4． Impression of One Another's Political Leaders
The majorities of Japanese and South Koreans saw one another's leaders as "unfavourable", and more than 75% of Koreans had "unfavourable" impression of Prime Minister Abe of Japan
Regarding the impression of one another's leaders, the Japanese respondents who had an "unfavorable or relatively unfavorable" impression of President Park of South Korea amounted to 45.3%, and "favorable or relatively favorable" remained at 7.0%. On the other hand, 75.9% of South Koreans had "unfavorable" impression of Prime Minister Abe of Japan, while "favorable or relatively favorable" was a mere 1.8%.
【Chart 15 Impression of One Another's Leaders】
4-5. Views about Visits to Each Other's Country
People who hope to visit each other's country exceeded 40% in Japan and 60% in South Korea.
The Japanese respondents who answered that they hope to visit South Korea polled 41.6% (47.7% last year), and South Korean respondents who hope to visit Japan were 60.9% (58.0% last year). These indicate that the Japanese and South Koreans show interest in visiting one another's countries. In contrast, there were also proportions of people who do not hope to visit each other's countries at 37.3% (33.9% last year) in Japan and 30.9% (29.5% last year) in South Korea.
【Chart 16 Do You Hope to Visit Each Other's Country?】
4-6. Views about Importance of Private-sector Interchanges among Japanese and South Korean Peoples
Regarding private-sector interchanges, more than 70% of Japanese and South Korean respondents answered that private-sector interchanges are "important"
70.5% (74.7% last year) of Japanese respondents and 72.1% (75.2%) of South Korean respondents answered that private-sector interchanges among Japanese and South Korean are "important" (including those who answered "relatively important"). Both side's awareness of the importance of private-sector interchanges are high.
【Chart 17 Importance of Private-Sector Interchanges】
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