Islands dispute hammers attitudes

Chinese and Japanese views toward each other hit 9-year low, poll finds

The impasse between Beijing and Tokyo over the Diaoyu Islands has badly hurt the attitude of both peoples toward their neighbor, with nine out of 10 saying they dislike the other nation, a recent survey has found.

Results of the survey, co-sponsored by China Daily and the Japanese nonprofit think tank Genron NPO, are the worst in almost a decade. They are even worse than in 2005, when Japan's then-prime minister Junichiro Koizumi repeatedly visited the Yasukuni Shrine honoring Japan's war dead, including war criminals from World War II.