Approximately 56% of Japanese respondents said this year that they feel "a sense of closeness" toward Korea, which is marking the 60th anniversary of normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and Korea.
According to NHK on the 16th, the Japanese Cabinet Office conducted a postal opinion survey from October to November last year targeting 3,000 adults aged 18 and over nationwide to gauge public consciousness regarding diplomacy, receiving responses from 1,734 individuals, representing 57.8%.
Among the respondents, those who expressed "a sense of closeness" toward Korea increased to 56.3%, up 3.5 percentage points from the previous survey.
NHK noted that the methodology of the survey has changed since 2020, making direct comparisons difficult; however, this figure has more than doubled compared to 2019, which had the lowest response rate at 26.7%.
Additionally, respondents who said they feel "a sense of closeness" toward China also increased by 2 percentage points to 14.7%.
On the other hand, the number of respondents who felt "a sense of closeness" toward the United States decreased by 2.5 percentage points to 84.9%.
A Foreign Ministry official said, "The increase in travelers visiting Japan from both Korea and China and the growing interactions among the people are influencing these feelings," adding, "In particular, the increase in cultural exchanges primarily among the youth in Korea is also a factor in the growing sense of closeness."