|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Record 45 percent of Japanese fear possibility of war: Survey |
|
|
| The Associated Press (apwire) |
 Email Article
 Print Article
|
|
|
|
Published 2006-04-30 16:14 (KST) |
|
|
|
TOKYO (AP)
Almost half of Japanese fear the country could face war again, with North Korea's nuclear program and China's massive military build-up considered major threats to peace, according to a government survey published Sunday.
The Cabinet Office survey, published in all major Japanese newspapers Sunday, said 45 percent of respondents believe Japan may become caught up in a war _ up 1.8 percentage points from a 2003 survey _ while only 16.5 percent disagreed.
The survey said that 63.7 percent of respondents cited North Korea's nuclear threat as a possible cause of regional conflict, followed by terrorist attacks and the rapid modernization of China's military.
Japan's relations with China have deteriorated in recent months due to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to a Tokyo war shrine that defends Japan's militaristic past, as well as disputes over Japanese history textbooks and territorial issues. Tokyo has repeatedly voiced concern about China's rising military spending, which it sees as a threat to regional stability.
The government survey also showed that 85 percent of respondents have a ''good'' image of Japan's defense troops _ up from 60 percent when the question was last surveyed in 1972 _ while only 10 percent have a negative view. Most believe Japan's dispatch of troops to Iraq is ''useful.'' However, more than half of the respondents said Japan should not expand its international peace cooperation efforts beyond current levels.
A staunch supporter of Washington, Japan backs the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and has deployed nearly 600 troops to the southern Iraqi city of Samawah since 2004 to purify water and carry out other humanitarian tasks. The Cabinet approved an extension of that mission in December, authorizing soldiers to stay in Iraq through the end ofthis year, but has not officially announced when it will withdraw the troops.
Opinion polls have shown the public is split over the mission, which has been criticized as a violation of the country's pacifist constitution. Many say the deployment has made Japan a target for terrorism.
The poll, taken Feb. 16-26 through interviews of 1,657 adults across Japan, provided no margin of error.
|
|
©2006 OhmyNews
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Comments Note: Kindly refrain from personal attacks and profanity. |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
How worried are you about the H1N1 influenza virus? |
|
 |
| * Vote to see the result. |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
RSS
Del.icio.us
Digg 
reddit
Y! MyWeb
.jpg)
