There is a high sense of crisis in case of an emergency between Japan and Taiwan, but 8 out of 10 people oppose the intervention of the Self-Defense Forces.
According to a survey conducted by the Japan News Agency, China is ranked as the number one country threatening world peace.
Quick Look
- Although 76.7% of Japanese feel a sense of crisis over the possibility of China using military force against Taiwan, more than 80% are negative about the Self-Defense Forces' direct participation in combat.
- He also selected China as the biggest threat to world peace.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
This is the result of a security-related public opinion survey conducted by the Japan Newspaper Survey Association on 2,676 people aged 18 or older from July 17 to August 16.
(Tokyo = Yonhap News) Correspondent Lee Do-yeon = A survey showed that more than 7 out of 10 Japanese feel threatened by China's use of force in relation to Taiwan, but the majority are opposed to the participation of the Self-Defense Forces in combat.
According to the results announced on the 10th by the Japanese Newspaper and Communications Research Association, which surveyed 2,676 people aged 18 or older from July 17 to August 16, 76.7% of respondents answered that they 'feel a sense of crisis that China may use force surrounding Taiwan.'
Regarding Japan's intervention in the event of a military attack by China on Taiwan, the highest percentage of respondents at 30.2% responded that they were 'not involved in any military aspect, including the use of US military bases in Japan.'
This was followed by 'The Self-Defense Forces do not participate in battles, but provide rear support with weapons and ammunition to the US military' (26.9%), and 'Only the combat actions of the US military at military bases in Japan are tolerated and the Self-Defense Forces are not involved in any way' (26.0%).
The combined response rates of these three were 83.1%, and more than 80% were negative about the intervention of the Self-Defense Forces in the event of an actual Taiwan incident.
Among the countries that pose a threat to world peace, China was the highest at 32.5%, followed by the United States (26.8%). The proportion of people who answered the United States increased by 9.3 percentage points compared to the previous year's survey.
Next was Russia (18.3%) and North Korea (9.1%).
Meanwhile, regarding the constitutional amendment being promoted by the Sanae Takaichi government, the largest response (52%) was “I cannot say either way.”
The 'agree' rate was 31.2%, and the 'against' rate was 15.3%.
On the other hand, when asked whether they thought there was a need to specify the existence of the Self-Defense Forces in the Constitution, the percentage of people who answered “necessary” was 67.5%, significantly exceeding “no need” (27.6%).
Open Questions
- What will be the Japanese government's final decision in the event of an actual Taiwan incident?
