Chinese take rosier view of Japan, but feeling not reciprocated
Percentage of respondents in annual poll who see ties between China and Japan as poor falls to lowest since 2010
Efforts by leaders to heal the historic rift between China and Japan are working, although improvement in how the countries’ citizens view each other is largely one-sided.
An opinion poll of Asia’s two largest economies published by Genron NPO on Thursday showed about 42 per cent of Chinese respondents had a positive image of Japan, up from 5.2 per cent in 2013. By contrast, 13 per cent of Japanese said they had a positive view of China, compared with a low of 6.8 per cent in 2014.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said he inherited a relationship with China in its worst state since the second world war when he took office in 2012, just months after Japan nationalised part of a chain of islets claimed by both countries. Since then, Abe has sought opportunities to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and appears set to be rewarded this month with his first one-on-one summit in Beijing.
In the annual poll, the percentage of respondents saying ties between China and Japan were poor fell below 50 per cent in both countries for the first time since 2010.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday told attendees at a bilateral gathering in Beijing that the countries should make efforts to improve ties, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.