Majority of Japanese worry China may invade Taiwan, poll shows

March 20, 2022

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REUTERS

NINE IN 10 Japanese people are concerned that China may invade Taiwan, following Russia’s attack on Ukraine, according to a domestic newspaper poll.

More than half of the 1,040 respondents polled on Saturday by the Mainichi and Saitama University’s Social Survey Research Center said they have “strong concerns” about the prospect of Chinese action against Taiwan, according to the newspaper’s Sunday edition. About 33% said they have some degree of anxiety, according to the report.

Locked in a territorial dispute with China over a chain of islands in the East China Sea, Japan generally sees neighboring Taiwan’s security as closely linked to its own.

Of those surveyed, 87% said they are worried about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while 30% believed the Japanese government should step up sanctions against Moscow, the newspaper said.

Japan’s decision to send Ukraine bullet-proof vests was “reasonable,” 61% of respondents said. About 11% said Japan doesn’t need to help Ukraine militarily, but twice as many said their country should consider more actively providing the east European nation with military support. — Bloomberg