The majority of Koreans and Japanese believe that their governments should improve bilateral relations to accelerate economic development.
A majority of Koreans and Japanese believe that bilateral relations should be improved for economic development, according to a survey conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI).
The survey interviewed 1,632 adults over the age of 18 in Korea and Japan.
Specifically, 85.8% of South Koreans and 67.6% of Japanese said the two governments should make efforts to improve bilateral relations. In addition, 81% of South Koreans and 63% of Japanese said improving bilateral relations would promote the economic development of the two nations.
The survey found that 50.4 percent of South Koreans and 43.8 percent of Japanese think an early Korea-Japan summit would have a positive impact on their bilateral relations. In addition, 80.6 percent of Koreans and 58.8 percent of Japanese said expanding private sector trade will help improve relations between the two countries.
The view that Korea-Japan relations will improve after the installation of South Korea’s Yoon Suk-yul administration was supported by 51.0 percent of South Koreans and 33.4 percent of Japanese. Asked which of the two values, past or future, the two governments should prioritize in improving bilateral relations, 53.3% of Koreans and 88.3% of Japanese chose the future.
But South Koreans and Japanese were widely separated in their past history. In Korea, 51.1% of respondents said the two governments should focus on the future, but at the same time solve the problems of the past. Moreover, 27.6% of them put the resolution of the problems of the past before the creation of a better future between the two nations.
