About 31% of South Korean respondents to a survey by the Japan Press Research Institute said they have a favorable impression of Japan, according to findings released on Saturday.
The institute's survey on interest in Japan and other issues was conducted in five countries: the United States, France, China, South Korea and Thailand.
Thailand had the highest percentage of respondents with a favorable impression of Japan at 89.6%, followed by the United States at 79.6%, France at 77.8%, China at 39.7% and South Korea at 31.3%.
Although the South Korean result showed the lowest figure, it was up 8.6 percentage points from the previous survey, recording the largest increase since the surveys began in fiscal 2014.
Asked about domestic social divisions, 77.3% of U.S. respondents said they "are aware of" social divisions in their country or said their society is "rather" divided. The United States was followed by South Korea at 73.1%, France at 70.4%, Thailand at 66.6% and China at 44.3%. These results are believed to have reflected the domestic circumstances of each country, such as on racial and political issues.
The latest survey was conducted from December 2020 to January this year through interviews or on the phone. About 1,000 people in each of the five countries gave responses.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
