TOKYO — A record 82 percent of Japanese report having friendly feelings toward the United States, according to results of an annual government poll released Sunday, in the first such survey taken since the U.S. military’s huge humanitarian effort last spring in Japan’s tsunami-ravaged northeast.
While the United States has consistently scored highly in the Cabinet Office’s annual poll of attitudes toward foreign countries, the latest result was the highest since the survey began in 1978. Only 15.5 percent of respondents reported not having a friendly attitude toward the United States, the lowest such result ever in the survey.
Local media said the results reflected the goodwill created here by Operation Tomodachi, or “friend,” in which 20,000 U.S. military personnel and 20 warships helped with rescue and relief operations following the deadly earthquake and tsunami March 11. The reports also cited Japan’s insecurities about the rise of neighboring China, which many Japanese look to the United States, and its large military presence in Japan, to keep in check.
According to the Cabinet Office, 71.4 percent of respondents said they did not feel friendly toward China.
The poll was conducted using a telephone survey of 3,000 voting-age residents, with 63.7 percent responding. The poll did not give a margin of error.
The New York Times
