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Japan
AsiaEast Asia

3 in 4 Japanese distrust South Koreans – and the feeling’s mutual

  • Diplomatic tiffs between the two countries are reflected in personal attitudes, a study has found
  • Among the issues that rankle are everything from Japan’s colonial period to the name of the sea separating them

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Why you can trust SCMP
A statue of comfort woman in front of the Japanese Consulate in Busan. The issue has long been a source of strain between Japan and South Korea. Photo: Kyodo
Julian Ryall

Three-quarters of Japanese do not trust their South Korean neighbours – and the feeling is mutual, a study has found.

A record 74 per cent of Japanese were now distrustful of South Koreans, found the study by the Yomiuri Shimbun in Japan and the Hankook Ilbo in Korea. That was more than at any time since the study was first conducted in 1996 and well above last year’s figure of 60 per cent. Meanwhile, 75 per cent of South Koreans had no trust in the Japanese, down from 79 per cent last year.

Those personal sentiments appeared to mirror a strained diplomatic relationship between the two countries. Some 83 per cent of Japanese respondents thought bilateral relations were bad, up from 63 per cent last year, while 82 per cent of Koreans thought the same, up from 69 per cent last year.

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WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

The survey also identified a key issue of division: Japan’s use of South Korean sex slaves in military brothels during its occupation of the Korean peninsula. Some 87 per cent of South Koreans said Japan still needed to apologise over its use of the sex slaves, euphemistically known as “comfort women”, while 80 per cent of Japanese felt their country had already apologised enough.
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People wave the South Korean flag in front of the Seodaemun Prison History Hall as they re-enact the 1919 movement demanding independence from Japanese colonial rule. Disputes regarding Japan’s colonial era endure today. Photo: EPA
People wave the South Korean flag in front of the Seodaemun Prison History Hall as they re-enact the 1919 movement demanding independence from Japanese colonial rule. Disputes regarding Japan’s colonial era endure today. Photo: EPA
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