82% of Japanese People "Like Americans"

The Pew Global Attitudes project has been surveying public opinion in several countries around the world since 2001. It is most famous for its reports on the decline in America's global image since 2002 and especially since the war in Iraq was launched in 2003.

In its most recent report, issued on June 13, 2006, the Pew Project indicates that 66% of the Japanese people hold a favorable opinion of the United States. While that is a drop from 77% in the year 2000, it is still the highest rating that the US received among the 14 countries surveyed.

The Pew Project has discovered that there is a difference between attitudes towards America as a country and attitudes towards the American people. Many people are more critical of US government policies than they are of the American people. For example, only 32% of the Japanese people say they have confidence in President Bush's international leadership, and only 26% support the US-led war on terror today -- a major drop from the 61% figure recorded in 2002.

But when the Japanese were asked whether they held a favorable opinions of Americans as people, 82% said yes. No other country surveyed held Americans in such high esteem.

As for American opinions of Japan, our Pacific ally gets a 66% favorable rating, a slight increase from last year's rating.