A Majority of Korean and Japanese People Think Bilateral Relations Need to Be Improved

A majority of the Korean and Japanese people think that bilateral relations need to be improved for economic development, according to a survey conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI).

The survey polled 1,632 adults over the age of 18 in Korea and Japan.

Specifically, 85.8 percent of the South Koreans and 67.6 percent of the Japanese said that the two governments should make efforts to improve bilateral relations. In addition, 81 percent of the South Koreans and 63 percent of the Japanese said that improving bilateral relations would promote the two nations’ economic development.

The survey found that 50.4 percent of the South Koreans and 43.8 percent of the Japanese think an early Korea-Japan summit would have a positive impact on their bilateral relations. Also, 80.6 percent of the Koreans and 58.8 percent of the Japanese said that expanding private-sector exchanges will help improve relations between the two countries.

The view that Korea-Japan relations will improve after the inauguration of South Korea’s Yoon Suk-yul administration was supported by 51.0 percent of the South Koreans and 33.4 percent of the Japanese. Asked which of the two values, past or future, should be prioritized by the two governments in improving bilateral ties, 53.3 percent of the Koreans and 88.3 percent of the Japanese chose the future.

But South Koreans and Japanese were widely apart over their past history. In Korea, 51.1 percent of the respondents said that the two governments should focus on the future, but resolve the problems of the past at the same time. Moreover, 27.6 percent of them put the resolution of the problems of the past before creating a better future between the two nations.