Chinese and South Korean anti-Japan sentiment 'at record low'
Survey finds wartime incidents are still working against Japan in the views of its neighbours
Anti-Japan sentiment among its neighbours is on the rise, according to a new survey, as territorial disputes and its role in the Second World War continue to damage its reputation across the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.
These opinions were particularly strong among 18 to 29-year-olds. Only four per cent of young Chinese and three per cent of young South Koreans said they were willing to ignore the issue.
However, 48 per cent of Japanese believed that they have already apologised enough for the war and another 15 per cent believed that no apology was necessary in the first place, according to the survey, which polled adults in eight nations by telephone or in person in March or early April.
The latest figures follow a continued downturn in anti-Japan feeling, with public support falling by 12 per cent in China and five per cent in South Korea over the last five years, according to data from an earlier Pew survey.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, known for a hawkish stance in foreign policy, enjoys similarly low popularity ratings in both countries. Only nine per cent of Chinese and 12 per cent of South Koreans say they see him in a favourable light.
Abe regularly visited the Yasukuni Shrine in downtown Tokyo, which among many others enshrines Class A war criminals, before assuming the premiership in December, earning the wrath of Chinese and South Korean nationalists.
