Poll: Japanese becoming more positive about China

[FarCenter]

The Yomiuri Shimbun

While a new poll shows Japanese to be more critical of the Japan-China relationship than people in China, the same poll also indicates that the number of Japanese who view the relationship positively has increased since last year.

According to the survey conducted jointly by The Yomiuri Shimbun and a weekly magazine published by the official Xinhua News Agency, 45 percent of Japanese say the bilateral ties are good compared with 50 percent saying so in China.

Meanwhile, 47 percent of the Japanese respondents and 43 percent of the Chinese said the relationship was bad, according to the survey.

However, the percentage of the Japanese respondents who viewed the bilateral ties positively increased by nine percentage points from 36 percent in the previous survey conducted in July 2008.

This figure marked the highest level since 2006, when the Japan-China relationship deteriorated under the administration of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

The survey was conducted by the Yomiuri and Xinhua's Oriental Outlook Weekly magazine.

<SNIP>http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20091208TDY01305.htm

[pampango]

1. The trend's in the right direction if the Japanese and Chinese view increasingly view each other

positively. Their countries are the two giants of Asia, so a good relationship is positive for the future of Asia.

[Confusious]

2. What we really need is "What China thinks about Japan" poll

Considering the past.

[Art_from_Ark]

4. Lots of countries have done bad things in China

and their own rulers have committed atrocities as well

[exboyfil]

3. Good lets pull out of Korea and Japan

Problem solved.