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Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung touches the comfort woman statue across from the Japanese embassy in Seoul’s Jongno district

A public opinion poll has found that a majority of Japanese people expect Japan-US relations to deteriorate due to Donald Trump becoming US president. The same poll found that seven out of ten Japanese people support retaliation measures in response to the setting up of a comfort woman statue in Busan.

The survey was published by Japan’s Nihon Geiza Simbun newspaper on Jan. 30. In regard to South Korea-Japan relations, the survey showed that about 72% of those surveyed supported retaliation measures taken against the South Korean government by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after a new comfort woman statue was set up in front of the Japanese consulate in Busan at the end of last year. Only 18% of those surveyed did not support the measures.

In regard to the outlook for relations between South Korea and Japan, 53% of respondents said that the situation would not change. Only 36% believed relations would worsen. While Japan has taken steps of retaliation against South Korea, the perception is that there will be no major change in the relationship between the two countries.

In addition, the survey showed a shift in the perception of the Japanese towards President Trump. In November, directly following Trump’s electoral victory, there were many Japanese who responded that the results of the election would not cause major changes in Japan-US relations. However, this more recent survey showed that 53% of the respondents believed that “Japan-US relations will worsen because of President Trump.” In the two months between the two surveys, public opinion shifted. The change is attributed to President Trump‘s announcement of US withdrawal from the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership), which the Japanese government had actively been advocating, as well has his aggressive remarks against the Japanese automobile industry.

The survey found consistent support for Abe’s Cabinet. The approval rating according to this survey was 66%, a two percent increase in points from a month ago.

The comfort woman statue

By Gil Yun-hyung, Tokyo correspondent

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