In a recent poll jointly conducted by The Yomiuri Shimbun and the U.S. survey firm Gallup, the percentage of respondents in Japan who said present Japan-U.S. relations were good increased from last year's survey, but many in Japan still strongly distrust U.S. President Donald Trump, who prioritizes his "America First" policy over international cooperation.
However, the survey also showed that with North Korea not tackling denuclearization and continuing such military provocations as launching ballistic missiles, many respondents seem aware of the importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance.
Respondents in Japan who said current Japan-U.S. relations are good increased to 48%, exceeding the 31% who replied that they are bad. The percentages answering good or bad were level at 39% in the 2018 survey for several reasons, including strong demands by Trump to reduce the U.S. trade deficit with Japan.
A bilateral trade deal was concluded in October and pressure from Trump appears to have subsided, apparently boosting the percentage of respondents in Japan who said relations are good in the 2019 survey.
Under the bilateral deal, Japan accepted lower tariffs mainly on U.S. beef and pork at levels not exceeding the Trans-Pacific Partnership multilateral free trade pact. The United States accepted the abolition of tariffs on a wide range of industrial products that Japan exports, but postponed its decision on the abolition of tariffs on automobiles and auto-related parts, which Japan had strongly demanded.
Respondents in Japan who said they approved of the bilateral trade deal came in at 34%, while 46% disapproved of it. In contrast, more than half of respondents in the United States, at 59%, approved of the bilateral trade deal.
On the Japanese side, the number of people who replied that bilateral ties are good increased, but negative opinions on the Trump administration were notable.
It has been almost three years since Trump's inauguration. Asked about his approach to dealing with the international community, 67% of respondents in Japan said they disapproved. This was lower than the 69% in the 2018 survey, but it showed that many respondents in Japan still hold a severe view of the Trump administration.
On the same question, 45% of respondents in the United States said that they approved of Trump's approach, while 52% disapproved.
These figures may have been influenced by moves by the Trump administration, including its notifying the United Nations of its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, an international framework for measures against global warming, immediately before the survey was conducted in November this year.
As to the "America First" policy proclaimed by Trump as the basic stance of U.S. foreign policy, 75% of respondents in Japan said they disapprove of it. In the previous survey, 75% of respondents in Japan did not accept Trump's demands that Japan redress the trade imbalance. It seems many respondents in Japan have a deep-rooted distrust of Trump's approach of seeking concessions from negotiating partners by threatening them with sanctions.
In contrast, 51% of respondents in the United States said they approved of Trump's "America First" policy, while 45% disapproved.
Asked about their trust of the other country, in Japan, 37% said they trusted the United States, up from 30% in the previous survey. But 55% said they did not trust the United States, unchanged from the previous survey.
Among respondents in Japan who said that they disapproved of Trump's "America First" policy, which was 75% of all respondents, 62% said that they do not trust the United States. This showed that Trump's dismissal of international cooperation promotes distrust of the United States.
In the United States, 73% said they trusted Japan, up from 70% in the previous survey, while 24% did not trust Japan, the same as in the previous survey.
About future Japan-U.S. ties, 78% of respondents in Japan said they would stay the same, up from 71% in the previous survey, followed by 11% who replied they would improve (10% in the previous survey). Only 5% answered that they would get worse (12%).
In the United States, 43% said relations would stay the same (up from 39%), while 39% replied they will get better (37%) and 13% said they would worsen (16%).
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