Public Opinion in America and Japan: How We See Each Other and Ourselves
Two public opinion specialists analyze a variety of U.S. and Japanese poll data to discern public perceptions of the nations' economic and military relationships, attitudes toward family, work, and leisure, and satisfaction with democracy. Among the findings are that majorities in Japan and the United States describe U.S.-Japanese relations since World War II as positive; the Japanese continue to rank America highly in comparison with other countries; more than three-quarters of Americans have consistently described their personal feelings toward Japan as friendly in the past ten years; frictions in the trade and military relationships have taken some toll on the overall relationship, but the data are ambiguous; changes in favorable feelings may derive in part from how each nation views its own prospects; and the cumulative weight of the polling evidence sees the two nations as committed allies.
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