POLL: Japanese have low opinion of Americans

Seventy years after they were mortal enemies, Americans have a high regard for the character of Japanese. But the Japanese view of Americans? Not so much, a survey out Tuesday shows.

Americans overwhelmingly think of Japanese as hardworking, inventive and honest, with few negative personal traits. The Japanese view of Americans is, well — about the opposite, according to the survey by the non-partisan Pew Research Center.

Seven decades after the end of World War II, and a generation removed from the bitter trade wars of the 1980s, Japan and the U.S. have developed a deep sense of mutual trust and respect, but tend to see each other's social traits very differently.

The survey found 68% of Americans say they trust Japan either a great deal or a fair amount, and 75% of Japanese say they feel the same toward the United States.

However, while 94% of Americans view Japanese as hardworking, only 25% of Japanese reciprocate that view. And while only 19% of Americans view Japanese as selfish, 47% of Japanese say Americans are selfish.

Seventy-five percent of Americans view Japanese as honest, compared with only 37% of Japanese who have that view about Americans.

Jennifer Lind, an associate professor of government at Dartmouth College and a 2014 Sasakawa Peace Foundation Fellow in Tokyo, said she was surprised at some of the findings, including that nearly 1 in 4 Japanese don't think of Americans as inventive or hardworking.

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