[Nasional-e] China to catch Japan by 2032

[Ambon]

China to catch Japan by 2032: survey

Some 79 percent of Japanese and 59 percent of Chinese people believe China
will catch up with Japan economically within 30 years, according to the
results of a survey conducted in both countries and released Sunday.
But 43 percent of Japanese and 67 percent of Chinese do not have a favorable
opinion of each other's countries.
Of the Japanese who did not have a favorable view of China, 35 percent said
the increasing number of Chinese illegal immigrants and crimes involving
Chinese is the main reason. That was the number one reason and is up from
second place in a similar survey conducted five years ago. Twenty-eight
percent of the Japanese surveyed had an unfavorable view due to what they
considered as China's anti-Japanese interpretation of history.
The survey was held prior to the 30th anniversary of the normalization of
ties between the two countries and was conducted by a polling body comprised
of Kyodo News and its member newspapers.
The survey from five years ago showed "one-party dictatorship" was the main
reason Japanese had an unfavorable opinion of China.
Among Chinese respondents, 79 percent said they do not feel friendly toward
Japan because it does not reflect on its aggression toward China and lacks
an understanding of history. Seven percent said Japan is becoming
nationalistic. Asked about the increasing number of crimes committed by
Chinese, 49 percent of the Chinese respondents said they do not know about
it.
On the issue of Japan's prime minister paying tribute at the war-related
Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, 54 percent of Japanese said the prime minister
should visit the shrine, with 33 percent opposed. Among Chinese, 75 percent
said a Japanese prime minister should not visit the shrine.
On the issue of Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province, 71
percent of Japanese said they want the situation to remain the same, while
70 percent of Chinese said Taiwan should be reunited with China.
Asked whether China poses a military threat to Japan, 36 percent of Japanese
respondents said "yes" -- down from 46 percent five years ago. This
apparently reflects China's missile test-launches into the waters around
Taiwan in 1996 and the underground nuclear tests that were suspended that
year.
Meanwhile, 77 percent of Japanese said the government should either decrease
or stop official development assistance to China, up 10 percentage points
from five years ago.
Although 33 percent of Chinese said ODA should remain the same, 50 percent
said they think the funds should either be curbed or are unnecessary.
Asked whether they like Chinese people, 65 percent of Japanese said they had
no particular feeling one way or the other, while 22 percent said they like
the Chinese and 12 percent said they do not.
Among Chinese respondents, 42 percent said they dislike the Japanese, while
31 percent said they like them.
The survey was conducted by interviews in Japan and China prior to the 30th
anniversary of the two country's normalization of ties on Sept. 29.
The nationwide survey in Japan questioned 1,884 people over 20 years old on
Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, with both genders represented almost equally.
The survey in China covered 2,185 people, with both genders represented
almost equally, in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenyang and Lanzhou on
Aug. 17 and 18. The People's University of China in Beijing conducted the
survey in China.
The Japan Times: Sept. 23, 2002
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