53pc of Chinese expect to go to war with Japan: poll

Opinion poll also finds 29pc of Japanese see conflict between the countries ahead and paints picture of widespread mutual popular mistrust

More than half of Chinese people think their country could go to war with Japan in the future, a poll revealed yesterday.

A survey conducted in both nations found that 53.4 per cent of Chinese envisage a future conflict, with more than a fifth of those saying it would happen "within a few years", while 29 per cent of Japanese foresee military confrontation.

The survey findings came ahead of today's second anniversary of Japan's nationalisation of the disputed Diaoyu, or Senkaku, islands in the East China Sea - the focus of bilateral tensions. They also come amid reports that the United States may be engaged in discussions with Japan on how to expand its offensive capabilities. The survey was conducted by Japanese non-governmental organisation Genron and state-run China Daily in July and last month.

Some 1,000 Japanese adults, and 1,539 Chinese in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenyang and Xian, were questioned for the annual survey.

Ninety-three per cent of Japanese respondents said their impression of China was "unfavourable", worsening from 90.1 per cent last year and the highest level since the survey began in 2005. The percentage of Chinese who have an unfavourable impression of Japan stood at 86.8 per cent, an improvement on 92.8 per cent last year.

"The most common reason for the unfavourable impression of China among the Japanese public was 'China's actions are incompatible with international rules' at 55.1 per cent," said Genron and the China Daily.

That was closely followed by "China's actions to secure resources, energy and food look selfish" at 52.8 per cent.

The third reason was "criticism of Japan over historical issues" at 52.2 per cent, while "continuous confrontation over the Senkaku Islands" came fourth at 50.4 per cent, it said.

"On the other hand, 'the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands' (64 per cent) and 'historical understanding' (59.6 per cent) were the two prominent reasons for the unfavourable impression of Japan among the Chinese public," it said.

In another development, reports said that Tokyo was holding informal, previously undisclosed talks with the US about first-strike capabilities to take out North Korean missile bases. The Japanese officials said their US counterparts were cautious about the idea, partly because it could outrage China.

In Beijing, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Asian countries had a right to be concerned about moves to strengthen Japan's military considering its past and recent "mistaken" words and actions about its history.


Sumber - South China Morning Post