71% of Chinese say they would fight for their country
Staff Reporter 2015-03-22 12:24 (GMT+8)


Only 11% of Japanese respondents in a Win/Gallup International poll said they would be willing to fight for their country, the lowest proportion in the world, while in China the number is 71%, reports China's nationalistic tabloid Global Times.

The international market research and polling firm asked people in 64 counties and regions between September and December last year the question: "If there were a war that involved your country, would you be willing to fight?" A total of 62,000 people responded to the poll, of which 67% of male and 52% of female participants said they would.

The highest percentage of people saying they were willing to fight came from Morocco and Fiji at 94% while the figure in Netherlands was the second-lowest at 15%. The percentage in Russia stood at 54%, the US 44%, South Korea 42%, Italy 20%, Belgium 19% and Germany 18%. Figures from in countries suffering unrest or where conflicts have broken out showed significantly higher numbers.

The poll suggested that the general public in Japan has a drastically different attitude toward war from the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which has proposed to amend laws to allow the country's Self-Defense Force to use force overseas if an attack endangers Japan's survival, according to the Japan Times.

Tokyo Shimbun's editorial said a democratic country should put politics and peace before the use of armed force and questioned whether Japanese people can supervise the Self-Defense Forces rationally. Global Times said although multiple anti-war assemblies have been held in Japan and reported by local media, the Japanese government has ignored them and was determined to be more assertive in its foreign security policy.

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-s...00083&cid=1101