Japanese do not expect economic upswing

Findings of the latest AP-GfK poll

Nuremberg, September 9, 2011 – According to the latest AP-GfK poll, the majority of the Japanese population have an extremely negative view of their country’s economic condition. Four in five Japanese assess the current situation as poor or very poor. Only a fifth expect there to be a slight improvement in the coming years, while hardly any respondents anticipate a notable upswing.

A representative poll carried out by Associated Press and GfK in Japan has revealed deep economic pessimism within the population. Economic conditions of the country are judged poor by 58% of Japanese overall, and a further 27% even regard it as very poor. While 13% consider the current situation to be fair, only 2% rate the economy as good. These opinions are shared equally by men and women.

The economy is presently considered to be in a worse situation than it was five years ago by a clear majority of Japanese (70%), while only a quarter rate it about the same. Around a third of respondents experienced a worsening in the condition of their own family’s finances. A little over half did not perceive any change and for 13% financial circumstances improved.

The AP-GfK poll shows that only a small percentage of the Japanese population anticipates an economic upswing in the near future. A low 22% expect the economy to be in a slightly better position in five years when compared with today and a further 42% do not think there will be any improvement. However, a third of Japanese overall fear that the economy will be somewhat worse or much worse in five years. In contrast, hardly any respondents said that they expect the domestic economy to be much better.

The survey

The current AP-GfK survey was carried out in Japan by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications from July 29 to August 10, 2011, and 1,000 individuals over the age of 18 were included in the representative survey. Further information can be found at www.ap-gfkpoll.com