More than three out of four Japanese think that relations with China should be improved, according to a Japanese foreign ministry survey released on Wednesday.

Asked if Japan-China ties should be improved, 77.9 percent of respondents gave positive answers, while 12 percent said the current situation between the two countries was fine, the survey on Japanese people's awareness of Japan-China relations showed.

On the question of what problems stand between the two countries, 58.9 percent chose "history recognition and other issues relating to the past," referring to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine and Japanese history textbooks. Meanwhile, 32.1 percent said "lack of mutual understanding between the people of the two countries."

Close to half of the people surveyed are optimistic about relationship between the two neighbors in 20 years, with 12.3 percent saying Japan and China will have deepened relations as cooperative partners, and 34.2 percent saying ties will generally get better but friction will also increase.
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On Japan's diplomacy with China, nearly half of the respondents said that the priority is to develop overall friendly ties from a comprehensive viewpoint.

The survey was conducted by interviewing 2,000 people across Japan aged 20 and up on Feb. 10-13. Among them, 65.7 percent of the interviewees, or 1,314 people, provided valid answers.

(Xinhua News Agency March 30, 2006)