Eighty-one percent of Taiwanese said Japan is a trustworthy nation, a poll showed, the highest number since the survey was started, the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association said yesterday.
Japan has been the favorite nation among Taiwanese in every iteration of the survey — which has been commissioned eight times since 2008 — and the nation’s approval rating last year reached a historic high of 77 percent, far ahead of 4 percent approval for South Korea, it said.
The US and China both commanded an approval rating of 3 percent as the third-most favored nations among Taiwanese, said the association, which is Japan’s de facto embassy in Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
Eighty-one percent of Taiwanese aged 30 to 39 rated Japan as their favorite country, the highest among all age groups, it said.
Seventy percent of respondents said Taiwan should be most closely aligned with Japan, higher than 13 percent who favored aligning with the US and 11 percent who favored aligning with China, the association said.
Taiwanese who reported feeling a rapport with Japan rose to 81 percent last year, compared with 77 percent in the previous iteration of the survey in 2021, it said.
The share of Taiwanese who identified Japan as the nation with the most influence in Taiwan surged to 30 percent last year, up 17 points from 13 percent in 2021, it said.
By comparison, 48 percent and 19 percent of Taiwanese named the US and China respectively as commanding the most influence, with the latter dipping six points from two years ago, it said.
Seventy-seven percent of Taiwanese said they believe that Taiwan and Japan have good relations, another historical high, with 70 percent reporting that they perceived improving bilateral ties, the association said.
Only 2 percent of respondents said that the relationship between the two nations has declined, it added.
The survey, conducted by Pearson Data in December last year and January, had 1,520 valid samples and a margin of error of 2.75 percentage points.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the