Two-thirds Chinese say no to Japanese products

Two-thirds of Chinese said "no" to Japanese products months after the Japanese government's purchase of a disputed island which led to continuing tensions between the two countries, a Kyodo News online survey showed.

About 66% respondents said they would not buy Japanese products while 67% said they would refrain from going to Japan for tourism, according to the survey Kyodo conducted on 1000 Chinese aged above 20.

About 95% of the 1000 Chinese said that the purchase of the islands from the private owner has intensified anti-Japan sentiment in the country.

Thirty-one percent Chinese considered Japan trustworthy despite territory dispute while another survey in Japan showed only 5% Japanese said they trust China, highlighting a gap in the way they view each other.

Sino-Japan relations sank to a historic low and massive anti-Japan demonstrations erupted in cities across the nation in mid-September following Japan purchased the disputed Diaoyu Island which China claimed to be its own.

Trade between the two countries froze with China's imports from Japan dropped 7.6% and Japanese auto makers suffered the most as sales slashed.

Asked on whether ties between the two nations need development, 71 percent of the Chinese agreed, while 60 percent of the Japanese were in favor.

On anti-Japan demonstrations that erupted across China after the purchase, 24 percent of the Chinese respondents took part in the protests, while 74 percent of those polled answered that although they could understand the feelings of the protesters, their behavior went too far.

Although Chinese in their 20s are said to be heavily influenced by the increased patriotism and anti-Japan sentiment in its school systems in the 1990s, he said that it is noteworthy that almost 40 percent of those surveyed in the age bracket answered that Japan can be trusted.