Golez: It is much higher in the Philippines. Poll: 58% of Japanese consider ties with U.S. to be positive

Golez: It is much higher in the Philippines.

Poll: 58% of Japanese consider ties with U.S. to be positive

Japan News

Japan-U.S. relations were considered "good" or "very good" by 58 percent of Japanese respondents in a recent bilateral opinion survey.

This was up from 49 percent who felt this way in the previous poll in November last year and the highest level since telephone interviews were first conducted on the subject in 2000.

Twenty percent said bilateral ties are "poor" or "very poor," down from 28 percent in the previous joint poll.

The joint telephone survey was conducted by The Yomiuri Shimbun and the U.S. survey firm Gallup from Nov. 16 to 22 in Japan and the United States.

In the United States, 49 percent said present relations between the United States and Japan are "good" or "very good," up from 45 percent in the previous survey, and 10 percent said bilateral ties are "poor" or "very poor," down from 12 percent.

The percentage of Japanese respondents who trust the United States rose to 48 percent from the previous 45 percent, while those who did not dipped to 36 percent from 42 percent in the 2014 poll.

In the United States, 71 percent said they trust Japan, up from 61 percent in the previous poll.

The improved view of bilateral ties and the greater trust, both in Japan and the United States, apparently stem from the fact that the two countries have been pursuing a broad range of cooperation. This has included responding to China's maritime expansion in the South China Sea and other areas, as well as reaching a broad agreement on the TransPacific Partnership free trade pact.

Regarding the enactment of the security-related laws, which enable limited exercise of the right of collective self-defense, 39 percent of respondents in Japan approved of it and 71 percent approved in the United States.

Eighteen percent of Japanese respondents said Japan "should be more involved" in trying to solve international disputes, compared to 39 percent of U.S. respondents who wanted Japan to do more, according to the survey.

The survey also found that 78 percent of respondents in Japan viewed Japan-China relations as "poor" or "very poor," down from a record 88 percent in the previous poll. This is apparently because bilateral ties have been improving since the summit meeting between Japan and China's leaders in autumn last year.

In the United States, 27 percent said U.S.-China relations are "good" or "very good," up from 26 percent in the previous poll. Twenty-nine percent consider the bilateral ties to be "poor" or "very poor," up from 21 percent.

Asked which countries or regions they think will become a military threat to their home country, China topped the list at 82 percent in Japan, followed by North Korea at 77 percent and Russia at 61 percent.

The Middle East ranked fourth at 45 percent, which was followed by South Korea at 40 percent.

In the United States, the Middle East topped the list at 82 percent, up from 77 percent in the previous survey. The increase apparently was influenced by the recent terrorist attacks in Paris committed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militant group.

Asked what impact, if any, they think the TransPacific Partnership free trade pact will have on their country, 29 percent of respondents in Japan said it will have a "positive impact," compared to 31 percent in the United States who expected a positive effect. Twenty-two percent in Japan said it will have a "negative impact," while 30 percent in the United States said so.

Asked if they agree or disagree with the proposal that Japan should become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, 67 percent in Japan said they agree. Seventy percent of respondents in the United States said Japan should become a member.

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