[EAI Public Opinion Briefing] Analysis of the Results of the 13th Korea-Japan National Perception Survey 2026

Editor's Note

The East Asia Institute (EAI) conducted the "13th Korea-Japan National Perception Survey" in collaboration with the Japan Foundation (IHJ). The results of this survey are visualized in graphs and published as an "EAI Public Opinion Briefing." In this survey, the favorable perception of Japan among the Korean public (54.3%) and the level of trust in Japan, as well as the evaluation of current Korea-Japan relations, all recorded their highest levels since the inception of the survey, which is interpreted as a continuation of the upward trend since the low point in 2020. The impression of Japan among the Japanese public also improved significantly, recovering much of the decline from the previous year; however, the increase was relatively smaller compared to that of the Korean side, indicating that the asymmetry in the improvement of Korea-Japan relations persists. Meanwhile, the favorable perception and trust of the Korean public towards the United States have notably decreased, while negative impressions and low levels of trust towards China were strongly expressed by the citizens of both Korea and Japan. In this context, support for strengthening Korea-Japan security cooperation and a positive perception of improving Korea-Japan relations were also confirmed.