Record 87% of Japanese "Do Not Feel Friendly" Toward China

A record 86.7% of Japanese "do not feel friendly" toward China, a Japanese government poll showed, as bilateral relations remain tense over a number of issues, Kyodo News reported.

Japanese Coast Guard ships intercept a Chinese fishing vessel in waters surrounding the disputed Senkaku Islands. I Photo: Japanese

The annual poll, conducted from September 7 to October 15, followed China's total ban on marine products shipped from Japan that was imposed last August in response to the discharge into the sea of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.

As for Russia, 95.3% of Japanese said they "do not feel friendly" toward the country, a record high for the second straight year, compared with 4.1 percent who "feel friendly."

The record figure, up from 81.8% in the previous survey, was the highest since the question was added in 1978 to the annual diplomatic surveys conducted by the Cabinet Office.

While China fiercely opposed the water discharge, Japan criticized the import ban, saying the release was in line with global safety standards. Reflecting the deterioration in bilateral ties, a record-low 12.7 percent of respondents said they "feel friendly" toward China, Mainichi Shimbun also reported.

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