Japan is by far the favorite country among Taiwanese: survey
More than 75% of Taiwanese say that Japan is their favorite country, followed by South Korea at just 4% and both China and the U.S. on 3%, according to a regular survey released Tuesday by the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association.
The survey, conducted in December and January among 1,520 Taiwanese living in Taiwan between the ages of 20 and 80, comes as concern rises in both Japan and Taiwan over Beijing's aggression in the Taiwan Strait.
Japan has been the most popular country since the survey began in 2008, with 76% of respondents picking it this year — up 16 points from 2022. Neither South Korea nor China or the U.S. have ever surpassed 8% in the favorability rankings.
South Korea came in second place for the first time, as China's popularity fell 2 percentage points to 3%.
While more than 70% of all age groups said that Japan was their favorite country, the highest support — 82% — came from respondents in their 30s. The sharpest increase in favorability was among respondents between the ages of 50 and 64 at 74%, up 27 percentage points from 2022.
Although the survey did not ask respondents why they like Japan so much, it did ask why they think Japan-Taiwan relations are improving. The most cited reason, at 29%, was that 'Japan-Taiwan relations appeared to be positive in media coverage, online information and personal observations.'
It also asked respondents why they could trust Japan, with 66% reasoning that the two countries 'share similar values such as freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law."
As for which aspects of Japan respondents were interested in, travel (59%) topped the list, followed by culinary culture (58%), traditional culture (41%), nature (33%) and the Japanese spirit and philosophy (33%).
Japan-Taiwan relations have grown closer in recent months, with Taiwan naming Japan's ex-SDF chief as a Cabinet consultant and Taiwan's No. 2 diplomat seeking higher-level 'unofficial' Japan meetings .
In February, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te met with Yuichiro Tamaki , head of the opposition Democratic Party for the People, and discussed industrial cooperation between Taiwan and Japan, including collaboration in the semiconductor sector.
Lai also met with Akie Abe, wife of the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, thanking her for speaking on the Taiwan Strait issue at the Halifax International Security Forum in Taipei. Citing remarks made by her husband in the past, Abe said that a crisis in Taiwan is a crisis for Japan.
In September, Taiwan lifted import bans on mushrooms, game meat and koshiabura — a mountain vegetable — from five Japanese prefectures affected by the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear disaster: Fukushima, Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki and Tochigi. The move is seen as a step toward joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade framework, which includes Japan.
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