Hong Kong unrest fuels negative image of China among Japanese

One-party rule and territorial disputes with Tokyo also weigh on perceptions despite governments striving to improve ties

Chinese citizens on the other hand show an increasingly optimistic attitude towards Japan

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Hong Kong protesters burn items at a metro station entrance. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:08pm, 25 Oct 2019Updated: 10:11am, 29 Oct 2019

An annual study on perceptions of China has found that nearly 85 per cent of Japanese citizens have an “unfavourable” impression of their neighbour, with unrest in Hong Kong and simmering territorial disputes cited as key reasons.

Conducted in September by the Japanese think tank Genron NPO together with China International Publishing Group, the survey of 1,000 respondents aged 18 or older showed 84.7 per cent of Japanese residents had a negative attitude towards China.

The figure was actually down 1.6 percentage points from the previous study, but comes as the two governments are making visible efforts to improve bilateral relations that have been fraught for years.

Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan attended talks in Tokyo this week with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in what was widely seen as an important symbolic step ahead of a planned state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping set for next year.

Abe reportedly touched on the Hong Kong situation during the discussions with Wang, calling for a “peaceful resolution”. He asked Beijing to show restraint and resolve the crisis through dialogue so Hong Kong could return to the “one country, two systems” formula under which the city has been governed since its return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.