Polls: Nearly seven in ten Japanese support a more independent foreign policy from the U.S.
According to a poll by The Asahi Shimbun, nearly seven out of ten Japanese support a more independent foreign policy from the U.S., and more than half believe that Washington is either completely or somewhat unreliable in maintaining world order.
Among the respondents, only 24% believe that Japan should "follow as much as possible" the U.S. perspective in diplomacy, while 68% support an independent foreign policy.
Only 15% of respondents believe that the U.S. will protect Japan "when necessary," while 77% are skeptical about it. Additionally, approximately 90% believe that they "cannot rely on" the U.S. regarding Japan's defense issue.
Regarding the extent to which the international community can rely on maintaining world peace, only 3% of respondents chose "to a great extent," and 40% chose "to some extent." Meanwhile, 48% of respondents believe that the U.S. is "average" in peacekeeping efforts, and 6% believe it is "completely impossible."
In addition, less than half of the respondents believe that American democracy is "to a great extent" or "to some extent" a model for other countries. At the same time, over half (55%) of the respondents believe that the U.S. is a "respected" country on the world stage.
This survey was completed by mail and randomly selected 3,000 eligible Japanese citizens nationwide between the end of February and early April. A total of 1,899 responses were received.
Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1830590474554459/
Disclaimer: The article represents the views of the author alone.