Japanese Compensation Issue, Still Considered Unresolved

It was found that about 60 percent of Japanese think that the issue of compensating those who suffered under the Japanese colonial rule “has yet to be resolved.”

This is one of the findings from the recent joint survey of Korea, China, and Japan, conducted by Dong-a Ilbo along with Japanese Asahi Shimbun and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the normalization between Korea and Japan. In the survey, 54 percent of Japanese responded that they are “interested” in the compensation issue.

Only 30 percent of Japanese said that the issue was “resolved” while 95 percent of Koreans found it still “unresolved.” To the question of what matters most for the resolution of the history issue, 42 percent of Koreans and 48 percent of Chinese cited “Japan’s apology as acceptable to them.”

In the meantime, 94 percent of Koreans and 61 percent of Japanese thought that “the bilateral relationship is not going well,” a 34 percent and 35 percent increase for Korea and Japan respectively, compared to the results of the 2000 survey.

This is analyzed to reflect conflicts between Korea and Japan, recently provoked by Japan’s claim to the Korean-controlled Dokdo Islands and the history textbook problem. The survey also found that 63 percent of Koreans “disliked” Japan while only eight percent “liked” Japan.

On the relationship between China and Japan, 75 percent of Chinese and 61 percent of Japanese replied that it was “not going well,” a 13 percent and 18 percent increase compared to the results of the 2000 survey. Much more Chinese (64 percent) were found to “dislike” Japan than those who “liked” Japan (eight percent).

To the North Korean nuclear weapons development programs, the Japanese (85 percent) were found to feel threatened most among the three countries, followed by Koreans (62 percent), and Chinese (39 percent).

To the Japanese bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, 87 percent of Koreans, and 84 percent of Chinese opposed. To the Self-Defense Force’s involvement in non-combat overseas duties, 68 percent of Koreans and 93 percent of Chinese opposed.

Dong-a Ilbo has carried out opinion polls jointly with Asahi since 1984. In 2000 and 2001, the survey was carried out by Korea, the U.S., Japan, and China. This year it was done by Korea, Japan, and China.

Jong-Koo Yoon sunny60@donga.com jkmas@donga.com