UTokyo ROLES Survey:  Security, Alliance, and Foreign Engagement Research (SAFER) project

Aim and Scope of this Survey: 

The primary purpose of this survey is to elucidate how people perceive Japan's diplomacy, national security, and the international situation surrounding Japan. The media have conducted similar surveys on these themes in the past. Nonetheless, the questions were often limited in scope and conducted sporadically. Thus, they were not necessarily designed to capture long-term trends. Our survey aims to understand the public's perceptions amid the rapidly changing international environment surrounding Japan. Further, it seeks to examine them from a long-term perspective while comparing them with similar surveys conducted in other countries to achieve a deeper understanding. 

There was no significant change in the Japanese public's overall perception of diplomatic and security issues, despite changes of administrations in both the U.S. and Japan. There continues to be a sense of unease about the security environment against the backdrop of perceived threats to China, Russia, and North Korea, and there is notable support for strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance. The survey also revealed that 60-70% of respondents believe that Japan could be involved in a Korean or Taiwanese contingency. On the other hand, opposition to the use of force, Japan's own nuclear development, and the deployment of nuclear weapons by the United States remains high. We will continue to observe the dynamics surrounding the logic of security and pacifism that we saw in the previous issue.

PastSurvey:
SAFEROctober2024(https://roles.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp/publication/20241002en)

(Click on the link below for the full report).