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This Week in AsiaPolitics

China seen as security threat by over 90% of Japanese, new survey shows

  • Some 88 per cent of respondents also said North Korea was a cause for concern, while 89 per cent identified Russia as a danger
  • The figures come as ‘no surprise’, observers in Japan say, given Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s increased regional aggression

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Japanese and American warplanes take part in join military drills in 2022. Photo: Japan’s Defence Ministry/AFP
Julian Ryall
More than nine in every 10 Japanese now feel the nation’s security is threatened by China, according to a new survey – a rise observers attribute to Beijing’s increased aggression and the rising potential for a regional conflict.
The results of the annual survey carried out by the Yomiuri newspaper in February and March found that 92 per cent of respondents felt that China was a threat to Japan’s security – up from 86 per cent a year ago and 81 per cent in 2022.
Some 88 per cent said North Korea was also a cause for concern, an increase of one percentage point from last year’s survey and up from 72 per cent in 2022.
A test-fire of what North Korean state media said was the country’s new “Hwasong-16B” hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile is seen at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Photo: KCNA/dpa
A test-fire of what North Korean state media said was the country’s new “Hwasong-16B” hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile is seen at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Photo: KCNA/dpa
Russia, meanwhile, was identified as a danger by 89 per cent of respondents, up from 84 per cent last year and 82 per cent in 2022. In 2020, before its invasion of Ukraine, just 57 per cent of those surveyed said Russia was a national security threat.

“I do not think these numbers come as any great surprise,” said Sumie Kawakami, a lecturer at Yamanashi Gakuin University southwest of Tokyo. “North Korea has been firing a lot of missiles recently, and I find it interesting that [national broadcaster] NHK used to refer to these launches as of ‘projectiles’, but now they are simply calling them missiles.”

“There has been a realisation that North Korea is being more provocative and that these are missiles that can cause a lot of damage,” she added.

Kawakami said it was “inevitable” that there would be greater public concern surrounding Russia since the conflict in Ukraine had stunned the Japanese people and news about the ongoing fighting in Eastern Europe was unavoidable.

“The figures for China also reflect the alarm of ordinary people, although I am a little surprised it has gone as high as 92 per cent,” she said.

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