An Asahi newspaper poll conducted in the weeks following Trump’s inauguration found that only 15 per cent of 3,000 Japanese people surveyed were confident that the US “will protect” the nation in the event of a crisis.
The paper reported on Monday that previous surveys indicated more than 40 per cent of respondents had confidence the US would uphold the 1960 Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security.
“It is clear that there is more pessimism about the US under Trump in general,” said Stephen Nagy, a professor of international relations at Tokyo’s International Christian University. “But this is an extremely high number, and the Japanese government should be concerned by how many people here have such little faith in the alliance.”
The results were not surprising, as the “Trump administration continues to be erratic,” Nagy told This Week in Asia.
