Is this really a reliable result? I hope so. The point is that people in Japan tend to consider the economic ties more important than the political ties between the U.S. and Japan, mainly due to the ‘pacifist education’ after the Second World War. Can money buy peace, by the way? (Lily)
Japan Times (http://www.japantimes.co.jp)
Americans consider Japan most important Asian country, survey suggests, 7 November 2014
by Masaaki Kameda, Staff Writer
Japan is regarded among the U.S. public and American opinion leaders as the most import country in Asia, according to the results of an annual survey released by the Foreign Ministry on Friday.
It was the first time in four years that the survey found that both the U.S. public and opinion leaders viewed Japan in such a positive light.
The ministry commissioned Nielsen Consumer Insights Inc. to conduct the poll, which found that 46 percent of the 1,003 Americans aged 18 and over who were polled consider Japan the country’s most important Asian partner, up 11 points from last year. Twenty-six percent of them chose China, which marked a decrease of 13 points.
The survey, conducted from July 31 to Aug. 21, also showed that 58 percent of 200 U.S. opinion leaders from such fields as politics, academia and the media selected Japan, up 19 points from last year. China was chosen by 24 percent of them, down 19 points.
Some of the respondents said the result reflected a growing view that China poses a strategic challenge to the U.S., rather than being seen as a potential partner. Others said there had been much negative news from China compared to Japan, which offered relatively positive news, according to a ministry official.
But the ministry didn’t have much of a sense about why the general public responded more favorably to Japan, the official added.
Among the respondents in the general public who chose Japan, 63 percent cited political ties as the reasons they viewed the country as the most important Asian partner, 19 percent cited trade and economic relations and 11 percent cited its national character and culture.
Among opinion leaders who selected Japan, 59 percent cited political ties as their reason, followed by 37 percent who cited trade and economic relations, and 22 percent who cited its national character and culture.
The ratio of respondents who thought the U.S. should maintain the current Japan-U.S. Security Treaty rose in both among the general public and opinion leaders, with the former rising 14 percentage points to 81 percent and the latter increasing 8 percentage points to 85 percent compared to the previous survey in 2013.
A new question was introduced in the latest survey, which asked whether Japan and the U.S. should closely cooperate for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Ninety-one percent of the general public respondents said yes, compared to 97 percent of the opinion leaders.
Another new question asked whether Japan should play a more proactive role for peace and stability in the region. Among those surveyed, 81 percent of the general public and 88 percent of opinion leaders said the country should do so.
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