The 2002 Opinion Survey on the Image of Japan in the U.S.
(Summary)
June 2002
1. Results Overview
The percentage of the respondents answering "Japan is an dependable ally" or they "view Japan favourably" marked record-high. This shows an excellent view / high evaluation of the US public on Japan/ US-Japan relations.
2. Specific Findings
(Figures in brackets are of the last year and the preceding year respectively. See the attached graphs for past trends in major questions).
(1) Degree of Favorable View of Japan and Perception of Japan as a Dependable Ally or Friend (See Graphs 1 and 2)
| - Rating of respondents who view Japan "favorably" | ||
| General public: 49% * | Opinion leaders: 81% * | |
| (43%, 43%) | (75%, 79%) | |
| *: highest figure | ||
| - Rating of respondents who consider Japan as a dependable ally or friend | ||
| General public: 67% * | Opinion leaders: 91% * | |
| (61%, 60%) | (85%, 87%) | |
| *: highest figure | ||
(2) Evaluation of Overall Bilateral Relations Between Japan and the U.S. (See Graphs 3 to 7)
| - The most important partner to the U.S. in the Asian region | ||
| 1: Japan | General public: 46% | Opinion leaders: 64% |
| (49, 53%) | (72%, 72%) | |
| 2: China | General public: 22% | Opinion leaders: 23% |
| (22%, 22%) | (20%, 20%) | |
| 3. Russia | General public: 10% | Opinion leaders: 6% |
| (6%, 6%) | (2%, 3%) | |
| - Evaluation of the present level of Japan-U.S. cooperation in general rating of positive responses, either "excellent" or "good" | ||
| General public: 60% | Opinion leaders: 81% | |
| (40%, 42%) | (74%, 81%) | |
| - Japan-U.S. relations in the future | ||
| (Will improve) | General public: 46% | Opinion leaders: 36% |
| (45%, 49%) | (36%, 35%) | |
| (Will not change) | General public: 42% | Opinion leaders: 55% |
| (39%, 37%) | (50%, 59%) | |
| (Will get worse) | General public: 8% | Opinion leaders: 6% |
| (10%, 8%) | (11%, 4%) | |
| - Degree of mutual understanding between the people of Japan and the U.S. | ||
| (Good) | General public: 28% | Opinion leaders: 17% |
| (26%, 23%) | (15%, 8%) | |
| (Fair) | General public: 53% | Opinion leaders: 59% |
| (51%, 53%) | (60%, 63%) | |
| (Poor) | General public: 18% | Opinion leaders: 23% |
| (21%, 21%) | (25%, 28%) | |
(3) Evaluation of the Japan-U.S. Security Arrangements (See Graphs 8 to 10)
| - Maintenance of Japan-US Security Treaty | ||
| (The Treaty should be maintained) | General public: 85% | Opinion leaders: 87% |
| (85%, 84%) | (85%, 86%) | |
| - The contribution of Japan-US Security Treaty to peace and stability in Japan and the Far East | ||
| (Rating of positive responses, either "Great deal" or "Moderate amount") | General public: 74% | Opinion leaders: 81% |
| (73%, 71%) | (83%, 83%) | |
| - Importance of Japan-US Security Treaty for U.S. security interests | ||
| (Rating of positive responses, either "very important" or "somewhat important") | General public: 88% | Opinion leaders: 85% |
| (89%, 86%) | (82%, 85%) | |
(4) Economic and Trade Relations (See graphs 11&12)
| - The main reasons for Japan-US trade imbalance | ||
| "The closed nature of Japan's market" | General public: 43% | Opinion leaders: 45% |
| (44%, 51%) | (52%, 52%) | |
| "Macro-economic discrepancies in both countries" | General public: 28% | Opinion leaders: 35% |
| (26%, 25%) | (35%, 34%) | |
| "U.S industry's weak competitiveness" | General public: 21% | Opinion leaders: 13% |
| (21%, 17%) | (7%, 8%) | |
| - The most effective means of restoring Japan's economic growth (This question was asked to opinion leaders only) | ||
| "Structural reform": 75% | "Macro-economic stimulus package": 13% | |
| (79%, 76%) | (11%, 13%) | |
(5) Evaluation of Japan's International Role (See Graph 13)
| - Does Japan play an important international role commensurate with its economic strength? | ||
| "Yes" | General public: 59% | Opinion leaders: 67% * |
| (64%, 67%) | (61%, 59%) | |
| *: highest figure | ||
| "No" | General public: 29% | Opinion leaders: 31% * |
| (21%, 18%) | (38%, 39%) | |
| *: lowest figure | ||
| - In which of the following areas, does Japan currently play an important international role? | ||
| "Science / Technology" | General public: 56% | Opinion leaders: 94% |
| (61%, 62%) | (94%, 95%) | |
| "Global Economy" | General public: 51% | Opinion leaders: 94% |
| (57%, 57%) | (91%, 95%) | |
| "Cultural exchange" | General public: 44% | Opinion leaders: 58% |
| (48%, 50%) | (56%, 51%) | |
| "World Politics" | General public: 37% | Opinion leaders: 62% |
| (41%, 39%) | (57%, 60%) | |
| "Economic Aid" | General public: 28% | Opinion leaders: 63% |
| (26%, 27%) | (58%, 53%) | |
| "Security (incl. PKO)" | General public: 26% | Opinion leaders: 29% |
| (26%, 27%) | (23%, 20%) | |
| "Global Issues" | General public: 31% | Opinion leaders: 59% |
| (32%, 33%) | (48%, 40%) | |
(Notes)
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Period conducted: March 2002
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Survey methodology:
(1) For the "general public" group, telephone interviews were carried out with 1,517 people (men and women aged 18 or over).
(2) For the "opinion leaders" group, telephone interviews were carried out with 322 people in leading positions in the field of politics, administration, business, academia, labor, media and religion.
(3) The reliability of the survey:
The degree of reliability is 95% for both groups. The sampling error is ±3% for the "general public" group and ±5% for the "opinion leaders" group (for results based on samples of this size, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of error is ±3 percentage points for general public and ±5 percentage points for opinion leaders).
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