Most Japanese do not have ‘friendly feelings’ towards China amid Beijing’s aggression in South China Sea, Taiwan: poll

Survey respondents that spoke to This Week in Asia, however, emphasised that they did not dislike the Chinese people and that they held largely positive feelings towards Chinese cuisine, history, art and culture. Their dislike was aimed primarily at the government in Beijing and the Communist Party.

“The aversion that many in Japan feel towards the government in Beijing or the Communist Party is shared, I believe, by people in other countries in the free world,” said Yoichi Shimada, a professor of international relations at Fukui Prefectural University.

“Japan is just geographically closer to China, and it is our territory that Beijing is claiming, so it comes as no surprise if the distrust of China is greater here,” he told This Week in Asia.

Ken Kato, a Tokyo-based businessman, echoed the belief that Japanese do not like to be “bullied” or see others treated in the same way.

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Maya Hamada, a professor of Chinese literature at Kobe University, says the image of China among the vast majority of young Japanese is “very negative”, which may be contributing to the gradual decline in numbers of those studying Chinese language, literature and culture.

“There has clearly been fewer and fewer people interested in studying Chinese since around 2019, with many young people shocked at the actions and image of China in the early stages of the pandemic.”

“But I believe that my students do distinguish between ordinary Chinese people and the government,” she added.

And Hamada is not optimistic that things will improve, in part because her experiences have shown that the Chinese are just as hostile towards Japan.

Personal friends with experience of Japan and Japanese