S. Koreans say Japan worse threat than China as attitudes ‘worsen sharply’
Fifty-two percent of Japanese people dislike South Korea, while 78 percent of Koreans feel the same way about Japan, with 4 in 10 Koreans believing the countries will go to war in the next few years, according to an authoritative survey.
In its third such annual study, Tokyo’s Genron NPO, a think tank, and Seoul’s East Asia Institute, each interviewed about 1,000 people in their respective countries, ahead of a landmark meeting between the South Korean and Japanese defense ministers.
Koreans have been particularly alarmed by Japan, which has recently upped its defense budget, and whose current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has espoused a rhetoric widely dubbed “new nationalism.” Fifty-eight percent of South Koreans said Japan posed a military threat, fewer than the 83 percent who were fearful of North Korea, but far ahead of the 38 percent who said the biggest danger emanated from Beijing. Last year, only 46 percent of Koreans said that Tokyo was belligerent, but this year 57 percent believed it was not just a threat, but a “militaristic state.”
While few Japanese fear South Korea’s military, only 14 percent regard it as a democracy, and 39 say it is “nationalist” state.
Japan colonized South Korea in 1910, and maintained its rule until the end of World War II. It was accused of attempting to eradicate the Korean language and culture, and perpetrating thousands of crimes against ordinary citizens. Up to several hundred thousand Korean women may have been roped into becoming “comfort women” – sex servants – for Japanese troops.
While Japan officially acknowledged the maltreatment of “comfort women” in 1993, Abe’s administration has insisted that other countries should stop focusing on the past, while revisionist historians have questioned whether the women were forced into prostitution or chose to go into it voluntarily. While in office, Abe, who previously accused many "comfort women" of being “liars,” avoided making an explicit apology, despite repeated demands from the South Korean leadership.
https://www.rt.com/news/264033-japan-ko ... at-survey/
