The latest polls show that the Chinese people's impression of Japan, which has been improving recently, has deteriorated significantly.
There should have been no major movement in the relationship between the two countries in the past year.
The people involved cannot hide their surprise.
Why?
The possible cause is the "that" effect.
What is "Japan-China Joint Public Opinion Poll"?
Opinion polls were conducted by the Japanese private organization "Genron NPO" and the Chinese media group "China International Publishing Group".
It has been jointly held every year since 2005, and this is the 17th time.
The reason for starting the investigation was that there were a series of fierce anti-Japanese demonstrations in various parts of China this year.
At that time, anti-Japanese sentiment increased with respect to Japan's move to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council and the results of textbook examinations, and it is said that a demonstration took place.
Yasushi Kudo, the representative of "Genron NPO", witnessed the situation at this time and thought that investigating the Chinese sentiment toward Japan and its causes would be useful for building relations between Japan and China. We have conducted research and continued to analyze the results.
This year was held in both Japan and China from August to September, and a total of 2,547 people responded.
How bad has it been?
What was noteworthy in this survey was that the Chinese people's impression of Japan has deteriorated significantly over the past year.
The percentage of Chinese who answered that their impression of Japan was "not good" (35.7%) or "somewhat bad" (30.4%) rose to 66.1%, an increase of 13.2 points from 52.9% last year. It is.
It is the first time in eight years since the survey conducted the year after the Japanese government nationalized the Senkaku Islands (2013) that the Chinese people's impression of Japan turned so sharply.
The other Japanese impression of China is that more than 90% of the respondents said it was "not good" or "somewhat bad", and it has remained at a high level for the past few years.
But why did the Chinese become less aware of Japan?
In the past year, there has been no major movement in the relationship between the two countries, and Kudo, the representative of "Genron NPO," said, "The result was surprising."
I heard in detail.
After all the cause is ...
Mr. Kudo believes that there are various causes behind the significant deterioration of the Chinese people's impression of Japan, but the biggest one is the spread of the new coronavirus infection.
On top of that, it is clear that the impression of the partner country depends on the experience of visiting that country, direct interaction between the people, and media-centered information sources such as television in their own country.
For example, if a person who visits the partner country can receive various information such as sending out fun memories of gourmet foods and sightseeing spots via the Internet or mobile application, it is said that it will have a positive effect on the "impression" of the partner country. increase.
In fact, in the years before the spread of the infection, the number of Chinese visiting Japan was increasing rapidly, which means that this has improved the impression of Japan.
However, due to the spread of the infection, the number of visitors to Japan decreased to nearly one-tenth of the peak last year, and traffic between the two countries is still sluggish.
In other words, the chances for Chinese people to improve their impression of Japan have decreased dramatically.
Furthermore, the lack of opportunities for dialogue between the Japanese and Chinese governments also affected the survey results.
What's the problem?
Representative Kudo hopes that if the spread of the new coronavirus infection is settled and the traffic between the two countries increases, the impression of the other party will improve again.
However, it is said that the deterioration of Chinese impressions of Japan should be especially noted.
If public sentiment worsens in China and violent protests and riots occur again, discussions between governments will stop working, private exchanges and economic activities will stop, and our lives may be greatly affected. It means that there is.
To improve the impression of Japan and China
However, the survey results are not limited to negative ones.
We can see that neither Japanese nor Chinese have lost their hopes for the future and cooperation between the two countries.
For example, when asked, "Should Japan and China build a new cooperative relationship in order to achieve stable development of the world economy and peace in East Asia?" It exceeds 70%, and the percentage of Japanese is 42.8%.
Based on these results, the Genron NPO concludes that "the result emerged that both people are seeking cooperation rather than conflict."
In addition, Professor Shin Kawashima of the University of Tokyo Graduate School, who is one of the analysts who analyzed the survey and is studying the history of political diplomacy in China, asked, "Do you think Japan-China relations are important for your country?" We are paying attention to the fact that the percentage of Japanese who answered "important" increased slightly.
Why did the number increase when 90% of the respondents answered that their impression of China was "not good"?
Regarding this reason, Professor Kawashima said, "In Japan, on the one hand, I feel pressure from China and have negative feelings, but there is a recognition that relations with China, including economic aspects, are important." I am analyzing.
Next year will be the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China.
What are the consequences of the Sino-Japanese relations shown in the next poll?
(International Department, Satoshi Sekiya)