Here is an interesting survey that can tell us more about how people feel about each other within East Asia.

Asahi News : Japan disliked by 60% of neighbors

Quote Originally Posted by Asahi
Chinese and South Koreans have a harsh view of Japan, with six out of 10 ``disliking'' the nation and more than 80 percent opposed to Japan's bid to gain a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, according to a recent survey.

It also showed that more than 90 percent of Japan's two Asian neighbors take issue with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.
So 10% of the Koreans and Chinese actually don't care about Koizumi's visit ?

Quote Originally Posted by Asahi
In South Korea, 63 percent said they disliked Japan, up from 57 percent in 2001. In China, ``dislike'' responses shot up to 64 percent, from 34 percent in a 1997 survey and 53 percent in 2002.
...
Japanese also have a chilly view of their neighbors, the poll showed. 22 percent said they disliked South Korea, compared with 15 percent who liked the nation. For China, 28 percent of Japanese surveyed chose ``dislike,'' almost three times the 10 percent who chose ``like.''
The feelings seem to be reciprocal, although over half of the Japanese surveyed seemed to be in two minds, neither liking nor disliking their neighbours. Just indifferent.

And now the Yasukuni issue.

Quote Originally Posted by Asahi
The survey found 92 percent in South Korea and 91 percent in China were opposed to Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine, where Class-A war criminals are enshrined along with the nation's war dead.

In Japan, 28 percent were against the visits, while 54 percent were in favor.
...
In a more recent poll, which The Asahi Shimbun conducted on April 24 following a Japan-China summit, 48 percent of Japanese said Koizumi should refrain from visiting Yasukuni. 36 percent wanted him to continue.
So, the recent demonstrations have given rise to an increase of 20% to the number of Japanese people who think Koizumi should stop visiting the war shrine. At least it has had some effect on the mind. Let's see if he dares going there this 15 August, after his apologies to China.


What about freaky North Korea ?

Quote Originally Posted by Asahi
79 percent of Japanese disliked North Korea. In South Korea, 27 percent favored North Korea, while 26 percent felt ill of the country. In China, 38 percent liked North Korea; 9 percent did not.
Interesting that a much bigger proportion of Japanese dislike North Korea. One would think they are more of a threat to South Korea, but only 1/4 of South Koreans have bad feelings about the North.