Fear factor: more Japanese worry war ‘likely' to break out in Asia, survey shows
Japan will be dragged into the fighting, according to the results of a new survey, with rising tensions over disputed islands in the
East China Sea adding to public anxiety.
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A public-opinion poll published by the Asahi newspaper on Thursday found that 62 per cent of Japanese respondents feared the nation would be caught up in a conflict in the coming years. That figure is a sharp increase from the 50 per cent who expressed similar concerns a decade ago.
The survey, conducted nationwide between late February and early April, found that 12 per cent of Japanese believed war was 'very likely', while 50 per cent described it as 'likely'. Just 5 per cent responded that there was no chance of a war breaking out.
'This does not come as a surprise at all and there are a couple of primary reasons why people are becoming more concerned,' said Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi, an associate professor at Tokyo International University's Institute for International Strategy.
'The first one is the activities of China and North Korea that we constantly hear about. It is clear that both countries have become militarily stronger and more authoritative in that time, and that will inevitably make people more concerned,' he told This Week in Asia.
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'The other factor is obviously the war in Ukraine. Even though it is taking place geographically a long way away, the war has had a serious psychological effect on Japanese people because it has shown them that a major conflict can break out at any time and anywhere.'
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