Young Koreans Want Better Relations with Japan

About half of younger Koreans have visited Japan, and most have a positive view of the island country, the Federation of Korean Industries said Monday.

In a straw poll of 626 people in their 20s and 30s by the FKI, 42.3 percent of respondents said they have a positive view of Japan, 2.4 times more than the 17.4 percent with a negative view. The rest were neutral.

More than half or 51.3 percent said they have been to Japan at least once, mostly as tourists, and most have a positive impression, giving the country a score of 5.7 out of 10.

Seventy-one percent want fractious relations with the former colonial power to improve. The largest proportion or 45.4 percent cited the economic interests, followed by the need for a united front against China (18.2 percent) and strengthen security cooperation in Northeast Asia (13.3 percent).

Asked what should be considered to improve relations, a majority called for efforts to overcome deeply entrenched historical differences and territorial issues and build a future-oriented partnership.

A slim majority of 52.4 percent said a new plan to use donations from private companies to compensate Korean victims of wartime forced labor would have a positive impact on bilateral relations.