Record Number of S. Koreans Have Good Impression of Japan

Tokyo, Feb. 19 (Jiji Press)--A survey by a Japanese institution has found that the proportion of people in South Korea who have a good impression of Japan hit 39.9 pct, the highest level since the poll started in 2015.

The figure, shown in the survey conducted in November-December 2022 by the Japan Press Research Institute, was up 8.7 percentage points from the previous survey a year before.

On the outcome, an official in charge of the survey said, "Japan-South Korea relations are showing signs of improvement thanks to an increase in South Korean visitors to Japan and the change of government in South Korea."

The survey, conducted over the telephone or the internet or through interviews, covered around 1,000 people each in South Korea, the United States, Britain, France, China and Thailand.

The proportion of people who have a favorable opinion of Japan was highest in Thailand, at 94.7 pct, followed by the United States, at 84.3 pct, Britain, at 79.3 pct, and France, at 76.8 pct. The share in China dropped 0.8 point to 25.5 pct.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]