Japan remains the favorite country among Taiwanese, with nearly 60 percent of respondents choosing it in a survey commissioned in February by the de facto Japanese embassy in Taiwan and released on Thursday.
The survey shows that 59 percent of Taiwanese preferred Japan over any other foreign country or region in the world, up 4 percent from 2016, when the survey was last conducted, the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association (JTEA) said.
The JTEA represents Japanese interests in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.
China and the US picked up 8 percent and 4 percent of votes, respectively, to rank as the second and third-favorite countries, the poll showed.
People aged 30-39 most favored Japan (66 percent), according to the survey.
Japan was also the favorite country among Taiwanese in previous surveys conducted by the JTEA in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2016.
In addition, Japan remained the top pick among Taiwanese when asked which country they would prefer to visit, with 44 percent choosing Japan, 18 percent Europe, 12 percent Australia and New Zealand, 9 percent the US and Canada, and 8 percent China.
The same survey also shows that 37 percent of respondents said they believe Japan is the country or area with which Taiwan should have the closest relationship, followed by China with 31 percent.
However, the survey indicates that only 15 percent of respondents said they believe Japan has the most influence over Taiwan, with the top two picks being China at 45 percent and the US at 33 percent.
The survey was conducted by market researcher Nielsen from Feb. 14 to Feb. 27 through online and computer-assisted telephone interviews. A total of 1,003 samples were collected from Taiwanese aged 20-80 nationwide, and the survey has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
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