57% of survey respondents in Japan supported improving ties with China — ECNS

In Japan, 57% of participants in a nationwide telephone survey said that the government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi should make greater efforts to improve relations with China. Another 35% of respondents believe there is no need for this, ECNS reports, citing a survey by the Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun.

Position of government supporters

The survey was conducted on Saturday and Sunday. Among those who support Takaichi's cabinet, 51% favored more active efforts to improve relations with China, while 44% see no need for this. Among respondents who do not support the government, the respective figures were 69% and 25%.

According to ECNS, Japanese-Chinese relations have remained tense following Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan in November last year. The outlet also cites Japanese experts who expressed concern about the country's diplomatic position amid increased contacts between China and the United States.

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Assessment of contacts with the US

University of Tokyo professor Shin Kawashima told J-CAST News that dialogue between China and the United States is becoming more active, while Japanese-Chinese relations, in his words, remain a missing link. Former Japanese diplomat Hitoshi Tanaka linked the deterioration in relations with China to Takaichi's policies and warned that maintaining the current situation would mean a failure of Japanese diplomacy.

Separately, the survey showed a more restrained assessment of Takaichi's recent meeting with US President Donald Trump: 44% of respondents assessed it positively, while 38% did not give it a positive assessment. By comparison, 67% of survey participants assessed Takaichi's first meeting with Trump after taking office in October last year positively.