Photo/Illutration The Maritime Self-Defense Force’s destroyer Izumo is moored in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Nov. 8, 2021. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

A record high 64 percent of voters believe Japan should strengthen its defensive capabilities, according to a survey conducted after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

By contrast, only 10 percent of respondents opposed the idea of Japan bolstering its defenses, the survey, jointly conducted by The Asahi Shimbun and the office of Masaki Taniguchi, a professor at the University of Tokyo, showed.

Respondents were asked to choose from five answers to the question on whether Japan should increase its defensive capacity.

For the first time since such surveys started in 2003, the ratio of those who either “support” or “rather support” the idea of heightened Japanese defense topped 60 percent.

Ten percent either “oppose” or “rather oppose” Japan bolstering its defenses, while 26 percent were neutral on the issue.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, likely had an impact on Japanese views toward defense of their country.

Survey questionnaires were sent on March 15 to 3,000 randomly selected eligible voters across Japan. Sixty-three percent, or 1,892 of them, replied by April 25.

In the survey in 2003, when the Iraq war started, 48 percent of respondents either “supported” or “rather supported” the idea of Japan increasing its defensive capabilities.

The ratio rose to 57 percent at the end of 2012, when territorial disputes were threatening Japan’s relations with China and South Korea.

The figure had been hovering around 50 percent or higher since the Liberal Democratic Party returned to power in December 2012.

The latest surge indicates Japanese voters perceive Russia’s military actions against Ukraine as more of a threat to them.

The survey also showed a record percentage of voters supporting the continued operations of nuclear power plants since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.

Respondents were again given five options on whether they felt “nuclear power stations should be immediately abolished” or “they should be retained in the future as an energy source.”

Those who felt nuclear power plants should be abolished dropped to 32 percent from 40 percent in the previous poll conducted in spring 2020.

Thirty-nine percent of respondents said they should be retained, up from the previous 32 percent.

Twenty-nine percent were neutral about the issue, unchanged from the previous poll.

“The survey results suggest that voters’ sentiment is now closer to that of conservative political parties, including the LDP, of which Diet members are likely to support strengthening Japan’s defense capabilities or restarting nuclear power plants,” Taniguchi said.

“Until now, voters and conservative political parties embraced different views on these issues. I guess the major factor for the change is that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has made people more alarmed about security or energy issues,” he said.

The survey results also showed that voters have become more nervous about where the economy is heading.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has continued for more than two years, has increased voters’ calls for more government spending, the poll suggests.

A record 58 percent of respondents supported the statement: “The government should implement fiscal stimulus measures to revitalize the economy for the time being, and not suppress public spending in order to rebuild government finances.”

The figure was higher than 50 percent in the previous survey, which was conducted during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ratio was also 50 percent in the 2009 survey conducted just after the financial crisis sparked by the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers. It inched up to 52 percent in the 2012 survey following the Great East Japan Earthquake.

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