In a poll commissioned by the Foreign Ministry, a record 80 percent of the American public said Japan was a dependable country. The results of this poll, undertaken by the famed Gallup Organization and released in late May, showed a considerable shift in attitudes toward Japan.
Only 60 percent of Americans trusted Japan in a similar poll in 1998. Although relations between the two countries have never been entirely frosty, the latest poll is a sign of a bicultural warming of a welcome sort, and an opening for Japan to make progress in its place in the world.
The poll results suggest that, at least based on the image of Japan in America, potentially improved international relations may be on the horizon. In a parallel analysis of the opinions of influential Americans, including government and business leaders, an astounding 91 percent found Japan to be a dependable country. Just the same, only 40 percent of either the general public or the so-called opinion leaders said that Americans and Japanese have a good understanding of each other. Image, after all, is not always reality.