Chinese children look at weapons used by the Japanese military in World War II at an exhibition about the war, in Beijing.

People in Japan overwhelmingly have a poor opinion of China and vice versa, according to new polls, although Chinese views of Japan have become slightly less chilly.

The percentage of Japanese respondents who said they had a negative impression of China increased to 93% from 90% a year earlier, according to a poll by Genron NPO, a Tokyo-based nonprofit group.

In a parallel poll conducted by China Daily, 87% of respondents said they had an unfavourable impression of Japan, a slight improvement from last year’s record high of 93%.

More than half of Japanese respondents who had a negative impression of China thought the country’s actions were incompatible with international rules.

Disputes over the Senkaku or Diaoyu islands, controlled by Japan and claimed by China, and historical issues were prominent reasons for Chinese respondents’ negative feelings towards Japan, though the proportion of people citing those issues fell moderately.

Despite the mutual dislike, people on both sides hoped tensions would ease.

Asked to characterise the current situation, some 80% of Japanese respondents chose either “This is an undesirable situation, and I have concerns” or “The situation is a problem and it needs to be improved.” In China, about 70% of respondents answered in the same way.

China urged cooperation between the two sides to improve relation.

China Japan Hate Graph

“To maintain a stable and sound relationship between China and Japan serves our mutual interests and that of the international community.

But it needs to be a concerted effort from our two peoples,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily briefing.

“In light of the current situation, the Japanese side should reflect upon why such things happened and what actions Japanese leaders can take to redress its mistakes and to help our two peoples enhance their exchanges and understanding.”

This is the 10th annual joint opinion poll by the Japanese and Chinese organisations, with total valid responses of 2,539.

The poll was conducted from July 24 to Aug. 10 in Japan and from July 14 to July 25 in China. Full results and methodology in English are available here.

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Categories: Human Rights & Social Issues

Tags: Beijing, China, China Daily, Diaoyu Islands, Human Rights, Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Senkaku Islands, Social Issues, Tokyo, World War II