Page:Current Japanese Opinion of the U.S. and the Conflict in Vietnam, p. 1 of 2 - NARA - 304222.tif



With one significant exception, Japanese opinion of the Vietnam situation and U.S. involvement has shown no important shifts between June 1965 and April 1966. A significant percentage of Japanese continued to hold an adverse view of U.S. support for the Government of Vietnam (GVN), to believe that the U.S. should take a more conciliatory attitude towards the opposition and to oppose Japanese support of the GVN. There was a slight but insignificant rise in Japanese opinion of U.S. efforts to prevent a new world war.

The one striking shift was on the question of Japanese impressions of recent U.S. activities in international affairs. The U.S. position improved substantially with a net favorable gain of 26 percent in a ten months period. This gain brought the U.S. standing on this issue up from its lowest point in nine years (-26 percent) to the zero point, i.e. an equal percentage of approval and disapproval. (Table Attached)

Clearly overall U.S. behavior on the international scene impressed the Japanese favorably but they remained consistent in their adverse opinion of the Vietnam conflict. The so-called U.S. "peace offensive" and the Honolulu Conference — both of which received extensive and favorable comment in the Japanese press — may have contributed substantially to the improvement of Japanese opinion on the general question of U.S. foreign policy.