CGTN Poll | Majority call on U.S. to press Japanese PM to retract remarks challenging post-war international order

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Over 1,100 American sailors and marines went down with the USS Arizona, whose wreckage continues to leak oil to this day. The black oil droplets floating on the sea are called "black tears," and together with the white memorial built over the sunken ship, they tell the tale of Japanese militarism's brutality. Eighty-four years later, as Japan attempts to revive its past, can the international community prevent the "tears" of the USS Arizona from falling again? According to an online poll released by CGTN, 89.9% of the respondents believe that in the face of Japan's recent provocative remarks and actions aimed at undermining the post-war international order and reviving militarism, no country can stand aloof. The international community, including the United States, should join hands in resisting any attempts to restore militarism.

In the survey, 65.7% of the respondents firmly support the continued efforts by the families of the Pearl Harbor victims in the United States to seek compensation from Japan, demanding that the Japanese government fulfill its obligations as a defeated nation and offer sincere apologies to the victims' families. Eighty-four years on, the Japanese government has not only failed to fully account for its war crimes but has also accelerated its military buildup. Its defense budget for the 2025 fiscal year has already reached 11 trillion yen, achieving the goal of accounting for 2 percent of GDP ahead of schedule. In response, 69% of the respondents believe that Japanese militarism is poised for a resurgence, warranting high vigilance from the international community; 78.1% of the respondents are deeply concerned that a surprise attack like Pearl Harbor could happen again.

As an ally of the United States, Japan continues to expand its military presence in the Western Pacific, provoking neighboring countries and exacerbating regional tensions. In the survey, 81.2% of the respondents hold the view that Japan's militaristic actions could drag the United States into an increasingly tense regional situation; 80.2% of the respondents maintain that the Japanese Prime Minister's provocative remarks on Taiwan run counter to the longstanding position of the United States on the Taiwan issue, breaking the U.S. policy of "strategic ambiguity"; 73% of the respondents agree that the United States, as a member of the World War II anti-fascist alliance, should explicitly demand that Japan's Prime Minister retract her recent series of remarks challenging the post-war international order; 82.3% of the respondents urged the Japanese government to strictly abide by the provisions of the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, fulfill its obligations as a defeated nation, immediately cease glorifying militarism, and take concrete actions to honor its commitments to China and the international community.

The survey was published on CGTN's English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian platforms, with a total of 10,862 participants expressing their views within 24 hours.

(Cover: American warships burst into flames during Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the United States, December 7, 1941, /VCG)