ADRN

A South Korean man holds up a banner that says, "We say no to the revival of Japanese

militarism" in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

 

Some 54.4 percent of Japanese people hold a negative impression of South Korea, up by 17.1 percentage points from last year and reflecting the ongoing confrontations over historical and territorial issues, a joint survey showed.

 

According to the survey results released July 10 by Genron NPO, a private Japanese group, and the East Asia Institute, a South Korean think tank, 70.9 percent of South Koreans said their impression of Japan was “not good” or “relatively bad,” down by 5.7 percentage points.

 

Asked why they had an unfavorable impression of their neighbor, the most cited reason among Japanese respondents was “because (South Korea) continues to denounce Japan over historical issues,” followed by “confrontations over the disputed Takeshima islets.”

 

The top two reasons among South Korean respondents were “because Japan has not reflected properly on its history of invading Korea” and “confrontations over Dokdo (Takeshima).”

 

Regarding a Japan-South Korea summit, a combined 77 percent of Japanese respondents said “efforts should be made to hold the meeting as soon as possible” or “it is necessary but there is no need to rush (a summit).” The figure for the South Korean respondents alone stood at 86.6 percent.

 

While 40.5 percent of Japanese said there is “no need to rush” a meeting between the countries’ leaders, the ratio was 72.4 percent among the South Korean respondents, indicating that more South Koreans are cautious about holding the summit.

 

The joint survey was conducted in May and June.

 

Genron NPO received valid responses from about 1,000 Japanese people aged 18 and over, while the East Asia Institute received around the same number from South Koreans aged 19 and over.