9 out of 10 Japanese People Dislike China

Genron NPO Survey... Public Perception Worst in 9 Years
Deterioration of China-Japan Relations After Fukushima Contaminated Water Discharge

The perception of China among Japanese people has reached its most negative level in nine years. This is interpreted as a consequence of the deterioration in China-Japan relations surrounding the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to Bloomberg News on the 11th, a Japanese think tank, Genron NPO, conducted a public opinion survey in August and September this year, revealing that 92.2% of all Japanese respondents answered that their perception of China was "not good." This is about a 5 percentage point increase from 87.3% last year, marking the highest rate in nine years since 2014.

Genron NPO also surveyed Chinese people about their perception of Japan, finding that 62.9% of Chinese respondents held a negative view of Japan. This is similar to last year's figure of 62.8%. The proportion of Japanese people who view China negatively is about 30 percentage points higher.

As a factor hindering the restoration of bilateral relations, 36.7% of Japanese respondents cited the issue of discharging contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. After Japan began releasing contaminated water into the ocean in August, the Chinese government completely suspended imports of Japanese seafood, rapidly cooling relations between the two countries. As public opinion in China worsened regarding the Fukushima contaminated water discharge, the Japanese government issued warnings to its citizens to exercise caution regarding safety when traveling to China. In fact, several cases of Japanese travelers being harassed in China after the Fukushima water discharge have been reported.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

When asked whether they intended to visit China in the future, 80% of Japanese respondents said they did not want to. Among Chinese participants in the survey, 58% also stated they had no intention of visiting Japan.

Although some Chinese people expressed a positive perception of Japan, Bloomberg News reported that the reasons differed from last year. Good manners and a strong work ethic ranked first and second as factors forming positive perceptions of Japanese people. On the other hand, the proportion of those who highly evaluated Japan in terms of advanced technology, high product quality, and economic development declined compared to previous surveys.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.