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Taipei – A new survey on Friday showed that 60% of Taiwanese consider Japan their favorite foreign country, the highest number since such surveys began in 2009.
According to the survey conducted by an investigative agency commissioned by Tokyo’s de facto embassy in Taipei, Japan was by far the most favored country among Taiwanese, with China ranking second with 5% and the United States third with 4%.
Japan also topped the list of countries or regions with which respondents believe Taiwan should develop a close relationship in the future with 46%, up 9 percentage points from the previous survey in 2018 to hit a record high.
In the same question, the US was chosen by 24%, up 9 points, and China by 15%, down 16 points, amid tense relations across the Straits.
The US overtook China as the country respondents considered most influential to Taiwan, with a record 58% choosing the US, up from 33% in 2018, compared to 25% choosing China , a sharp decrease from 45% in the previous survey.
A total of 13% chose Japan.
A record 70% of respondents said Taiwan-Japan relations are strong, while 77% said they felt an affinity for Japan, up from 70% in 2018.
The survey was conducted among a random sample of 1,068 Taiwanese adults aged 20 to 80 by phone or online from January 5 to 20.
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https://worldrepublicnews.com/60-of-taiwanese-choose-japan-as-their-favorite-foreign-country/