Poll: Majority of Japanese say country needs to reflect on past

TOKYO: While nearly 80 percent of Japanese say they are patriotic, most of that majority say their country should own up to, and reflect on, its record of aggression in Asia, according to a poll published in a newspaper yesterday.

The Asahi Shimbun said 78 percent of 1,805 respondents to the December 2-3 poll felt at least some degree of patriotism. The figure was slightly lower than the 80 percent recorded in a similar poll conducted in April 2005, the daily said.

At the same time, 88 percent of those claiming to be patriots said Japanese must consider their country's militaristic past and brutal colonial rule in Asia, the Asahi said.