Poll on China-Japan ties reflects positive changes
- By Chen Boyuan
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E-mail China.org.cn, October 23, 2015
More people from both China and Japan have started to agree that "peaceful existence" and "common development" should be the mainstream of China-Japan relations, a fact that helps to stabilize and improve the once-difficult ties, a latest survey has shown.
![Wang Gangyi (R2), CIPG vice president and Yasushi Kudo, president of the Genron NPO (R3), among others attend the press conference on the 11th Beijing-Tokyo Forum in Beijing on Oct. 22, 2015. [Photo by Chen Boyuan / China.org.cn]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20151023/001aa0ba3c161793e66a0c.jpg "Wang Gangyi (R2), CIPG vice president and Yasushi Kudo, president of the Genron NPO (R3), among others attend the press conference on the 11th Beijing-Tokyo Forum in Beijing on Oct. 22, 2015. [Photo by Chen Boyuan / China.org.cn]") |
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Wang Gangyi (R2), CIPG vice president and Yasushi Kudo, president of the Genron NPO (R3), among others attend the press conference on the 11th Beijing-Tokyo Forum in Beijing on Oct. 22, 2015. [Photo by Chen Boyuan / China.org.cn] |
The survey was conducted simultaneously in China and Japan from late August to late September during the year. The sample was based on the survey of 1,570 ordinary citizens and 400 elites in 10 Chinese cities and 1,000 ordinary citizens and 628 elites from Japan.
The Opinion Poll on China-Japan Relations 2015, jointly launched by China International Publishing Group (CIPG) and the Genron NPO of Japan in Beijing on Oct. 22 showed that most poll takers still hold overall negative impressions of the other country, largely because of the disputes and differences on territory and history, among other sensitive issues.
Despite the mutual sentiment, 70.1 percent of respondents from both countries deemed that China-Japan relations are "important," which was an improvement from last year's 65 percent. At the same time, fewer people in both countries believe this relationship would "deteriorate" although there was no increase in Chinese poll takers' view that it would "improve."
Along the trend, 78.3 percent of Chinese respondents view Japan "unfavorably," slightly dropping from the 86.8 percent of last year. A similar drop from 93 percent to 88.8 percent was registered in Japan on the same topic.
Among those who maintain "unfavorable" views of either country, most Chinese poll takers were concerned about the rising militarism in Japan, evident in Shinzo Abe's statement on the 70th anniversary of WWII, as 74.1 percent of poll takers said they were "dissatisfied." At the same time, "China's growing military along with its budget" was a reason for raised concern among many Japanese who responded to the survey, according to Yasushi Kudo, president of the Genron NPO.
Kudo added that the poll results in China were collected in late August – after the 70th WWII anniversary talks, while those in Japan were collected in mid-to-late September – after China's Sept. 3 military parade, and the two events might have slightly affected how people in both countries viewed each other, reflected in the poll results.
On the improving yet still challenging mutual feelings between the two peoples, CIPG Vice President Wang Gangyi admitted that history is an important issue that both countries should frankly face up to.
"History is an inseparable part of a country, a nation and a culture, and it does not allow for any 'purposeful distortion.' No one should whitewash history or distort it. Young people should know about the history of their own country, especially the legitimate version of it," said Wang, commenting on whether younger people in Japan still have to carry their older generations' WWII sins.
He added that the more a nation knows about its history, the better it can prevent its previous errors and strive for the future in a better way. "That's why I consider Abe's statement somehow 'misleading' or at least 'partial,' because he tends to erase Japan's warring history," said Wang.
The annual poll is launched prior to the Beijing-Tokyo Forum, held alternatively each year in Beijing and Tokyo. The forum, which started in 2005, has already grown to be a platform for boosting mutual understanding between the two peoples.
The Beijing-Tokyo Forum is dedicated to advancing Sino-Japanese ties and promoting mutual understanding between the two peoples. The 11th Beijing-Tokyo Forum will be co-hosted in Beijing from October 23 to 25 by CIPG and the Genron NPO.
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