Yomiuri Shimbun - Gallup, Inc. December 2009 Japan-U.S. Joint Public Opinion Poll

*All numbers are percentages

* Words in parentheses were conducted in the U.S. only  

 

Q1.  I am going to read some various institutions in Japanese (American) society.  Would you say that you “do” or “do not” have a lot of confidence in:  

	Japan	The U.S.
The Prime Minister (The President of theU.S.)	48	56
The Japanese Diet (TheU.S.Congress)	34	37
Police department and public prosecutors offices	54	74
The courts	66	60
The Self-Defense Forces (military)	58	89
Temples, shrines, and churches (Churches)	46	76
Government agencies (federal government agencies)	25	42
Local governments	46	57
Schools	53	69
Hospitals	68	80
Newspapers	66	50
TV stations	46	45
Major corporations	30	31
Labor unions	32	36
Other	2	10
None/No other	5	0
Do not know/No answer	0	--

 

Q2.  How would you rate relations between the U.S. and Japan at present?  

	Japan	The U.S.
Very good	2	8
Good	46	43
Just fair	21	34
Poor	24	6
Very poor	2	2
Do not know/No answer	4	6

 

Q3. Among the following issues connected with the U.S.-Japan relationship, which issue do you think is going the worst?  

	Japan	The U.S.
Mutual trust between countries’ leaders	10	9
U.S.andJapan’s handling of trade and economic issues	18	27
Realignment ofU.S.forces inJapan	31	5
U.S.andJapan’s handling ofNorth Koreaissues	13	19
Cooperation in fighting terrorism	8	12
U.S.andJapan’s handling of global warming	17	14
Other	0	0
None	1	2
Do not know/No answer	3	12

 

Q4. How much do you trust the U.S. ( Japan )?  

	Japan	The U.S.
Very much	7	14
Some	42	52
Not very much	34	20
Not at all	7	11
Do not know/No answer	11	3

 

Q5.  In September 2009, Democratic Party of Japan President Hatoyama was elected prime minister.  Under the new Hatoyama administration, do you think that the U.S.-Japanese relationship will improve, worsen, or stay the same?  

	Japan	The U.S.
Improve	1	3
Somewhat improve	16	27
Stay the same	63	42
Get somewhat worse	15	8
Worsen	1	4
Do not know/No answer	4	14

 

Q6.  Which countries or regions do you think will become a military threat to Japan (the U.S. )?  

	Japan	The U.S.
TheU.S.(only forJapan)	23	--
Japan(only for theU.S.)	--	20
Korea	16	25
China	64	56
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)	12	28
European Union (EU)	10	14
Russia	40	42
Taiwan	6	12
North Korea	81	75
India	14	12
Middle East	33	81
Central and South Pacific nations, such asAustraliaandNew Zealand	5	5
Africa	4	15
Latin America	8	20
Other	0	19
None/No other	6	3
Do not know/No answer	3	1

 

Q7.  To what extent do you think the U.S.-Japan Security Agreement contributes to the security of the Asian-Pacific region?  

	Japan	The U.S.
Contributes greatly	25	13
Contributes somewhat	50	57
Does not contribute very much	12	13
Does not contribute at all	2	5
Do not know/No answer	12	11

 

Q8.  The administration of Prime Minister Hatoyama has pledged to reopen negotiations over the plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps’ helicopter base in Okinawa .  Do you think the plan should be changed significantly, changed only slightly, or not changed?  

	Japan	The U.S.
Should be changed significantly	33	12
Should be changed only slightly	35	28
Should not be changed at all	22	39
Do not know/No answer	10	20

 

Q9.  U.S. President Barack Obama pledges to work for the realization of a world without nuclear arms.  Do you agree or disagree with this policy?  

	Japan	The U.S.
Agree	92	46
Somewhat agree	4	17
Somewhat disagree	1	7
Disagree	2	28
Do not know/No answer	1	2

 

Q10.  President Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.  Do you think President Obama deserves or does not deserve the prize?  

	Japan	The U.S.
Deserves the prize	47	35
Does not deserve the prize	44	62
Do not know/No answer	10	3

 

Q11.  The current law allowing Japan to provide fuel to ships of the allied forces in the Indian Ocean expires in January 2010.  The Hatoyama administration plans to terminate the activity at that time.  Do you agree or disagree with terminating the provision of fuel after January?  

	Japan	The U.S.
Agree	56	20
Disagree	32	71
Do not know/No answer	12	9

 

[For those that answered “Agree” to the previous question]   SQ1.  In place of the refueling mission, the Hatoyama administration is proposing to support reconstruction in Afghanistan .  Do you agree, agree only if the security conditions in Afghanistan permit, or disagree with this plan?  

	Japan	The U.S.
Agree	32	26
Agree only if the security conditions inAfghanistanpermit	56	34
Disagree	9	39
Other	0	--
Do not know/No answer	4	1

 

Q12.  Regarding North Korea , which issues should the U.S. and Japanese governments, working in cooperation, give priority to resolving?  Please choose as many as apply:  

	Japan	The U.S.
GettingNorth Koreato abandon its nuclear weapons program	96	92
GettingNorth Koreato end its missile program and its missile launch	94	89
Resolving the cases involving the abduction of Japanese citizens byNorth Korea	93	76
Normalizing diplomatic relations betweenJapanandNorth Korea(Japanonly)	51	--
Normalizing diplomatic relations between theU.S.andNorth Korea(U.S.only)	--	74
Providing economic aid toNorth Korea	28	30
ChangingNorth Korea’s political and economic systems	57	63
Other	0	5
None/No other	0	3
Do not know/No answer	1	--

 

Q13. The six-nation talks concerning the North Korean nuclear problem are an attempt to get North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons program.  Do you think that North Korea will abandon its nuclear weapons program?  

 

	Japan	The U.S.
Think so	11	2
Somewhat think so	9	8
Don’t really think so	16	22
Don’t think so	55	65
Do not know/No answer	9	3

 

Q14.  How would you rate relations between Japan (the U.S. ) and China at present?  

	Japan	The U.S.
Very good	1	3
Good	42	31
Just fair	21	50
Poor	29	11
Very poor	2	2
Do not know/ No answer	5	2

 

Q15.  How much do you trust China ?  

	Japan	The U.S.
Very much	2	3
Some	18	39
Not very much	47	30
Not at all	26	26
Do not know/No answer	7	2

 

Q16.  Which country, the U.S. ( Japan ) or China , do you feel will be more important to Japan (the U.S. ) in the future for “political” matters?  

	Japan	The U.S.
TheU.S.(Japanonly)	52	--
Japan(theU.S.only)	--	36
China	36	57
Both equally	6	1
Do not know/ No answer	6	6

 

Q17.  Which country, the U.S. ( Japan ) or China , do you feel will be more important to Japan (the U.S. ) in the future for “economic” matters?  

	Japan	The U.S.
TheU.S.(Japanonly)	18	--
Japan(theU.S.only)	--	25
China	73	69
Both equally	3	1
Do not know/ No answer	6	6

 

Q18.  Prime Minister Hatoyama is proposing the creation of an “East Asian community,” with Japan , China , and South Korea as its core members, to promote closer cooperation in such fields as trade and the economy.  Would you say this idea deserves high praise, or no praise?

	Japan	The U.S.
High praise	30	12
Some praise	46	58
Not very much praise	10	15
No praise	5	11
Do not know/No answer	9	4

 

Q19.  Japan pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which cause global warming, by 25 percent.  Japan ’s numerical target is relatively high.  Would you say Japan ’s numerical target deserves high praise, or no praise?  

	Japan	TheU.S.
High praise	40	25
Some praise	36	47
Not very much praise	13	12
No praise	8	13
Do not know/No answer	3	4