讀賣新聞: 90% dissatisfied with Beijing's handling of anti-Japanese demonstrations

China's handling of protests slammed
The Yomiuri Shimbun

More than 90 percent of people are dissatisfied with Beijing's handling of anti-Japanese demonstrations in China last month, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey conducted over the weekend.

Eighty-five percent said Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi should urge Beijing to apologize and pay compensation for the violent protests.

Seventy-four percent said they were concerned about the 2008 Olympic Games being held in Beijing.
The survey was conducted on 3,000 eligible voters on May 14 and 15, with 1,880--or 62.7 percent--responding.

The responses indicate that although no anti-Japanese rallies have been reported this month--thanks to a clampdown by the Chinese government--the Japanese have not shed their disappointment in and distrust of the Chinese people.

Japanese diplomatic missions in Beijing and Shanghai were vandalized during the recent anti-Japan rallies.
China attributed the protests to Japan's attitude toward history, and it has not officially said it was responsible for the demonstrations. Likewise, Beijing has not officially apologized or offered compensation for damages caused during the protests.

Ninety-two percent of the respondents said they were dissatisfied or somewhat dissatisfied with China's reaction. Only 6 percent said they were satisfied.

Asked about the handling of disputes with China, including that involving the Senkaku Islands and China's development of natural gas fields in the East China Sea, 77 percent said Koizumi should be more assertive. Thirteen percent said he should maintain his current stance, and 4 percent said Japan should give more consideration to China.

Forty-eight percent supported or somewhat supported Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine, while 45 percent opposed them.

Sixty-five percent of Liberal Democratic Party supporters supported the prime minister's visits to the shrine, which enshrines Class-A war criminals alongside the war dead, while many supporters of oppositions parties are opposed to the visits.