THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010–2014: CULTURALMANIFOLD ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL CHARACTER

Ryozo Yoshino*, Kiyohisa Shibai*, Kosuke Nikaido*, and Taisuke Fujita***Survey Science Center, The Institute of Statistical Mathematics, 10-3 Midori-cho,Tachikawa, Tokyo 190-8562, Japan.

Mail Address: yoshino@ism.ac.jp**Faculty of Economics, Nagasaki University

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Abstract
The Institute of Statistical Mathematics has been conducting a longitudinal survey on
Japanese national character since 1953. From 1971, this survey was extended to include
cross-national comparative surveys and people of Japanese ancestry in Hawaii, the West
Coast of the United States, and Brazil. The cross-national survey primarily focuses oncomparing social values, ways of thinking and feeling, and other relevant characteristics ofpeople from various nations. This study investigates conditions under which meaningful
cross-national comparability of social survey data is guaranteed, despite differences inlanguages and statistical sampling methods. Over the past 14 years, focusing on Asian
countries, we have carried out the East Asia Values Survey (2002–2005), the Pacific Rim
Values Survey (2004–2009), and the Asia-Pacific Values Survey (2010–2014). In thisintroductory paper to the special issue, we discuss the development of our research paradigm,
termed cultural manifold analysis (CULMAN), and provide an overview of our past surveys.
We conclude with comments on our future research.

Key Words and Phrases: cross-national comparison, cultural manifold analysis,
interpersonal relations, Japanese national character, longitudinal survey, sense of trust, social
survey, statistical random sampling.

(Footnote of the 1st page) This is an updated version of Yoshino, Nikaido and Fujita (2009)
with the inclusion of recent survey developments and data analyses.

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1. Introduction- From “Statistics for War” to “Statistics for Peace”
While the last quarter of a century has witnessed the destruction of the traditional worldorder, a definitive direction of a new world order is not yet apparent as political or
military conflicts repeatedly surface in certain parts of the world. Japan has been
struggling to emerge from the “lost two decades” of economic recession as well as
political confusion. This confusion is not exceptional. The entire world—whether Asia,
the European Union (EU), the Middle East, or the United States (US) — seems to be
struggling with economic, political, and military instability, or religious confusion.
Each nation and race has its own culture, social values, and ways of thinking underlying
its economic, political, and social systems. We believe that mutual understanding of these
aspects among nations and races is the key to peaceful development and economic prosperity
throughout the world. Therefore, we need to develop generous attitudes incorporating
manifold social values across the world. It is time to respect each other beyond differences ofculture, race, religion, and social values. It is also necessary to consider both the surface
structure (e.g., economic and political systems, and religious organization) and the deep
structure (e.g., religious faith, social values, and well-being) of every country and region, andof the world. This complementary approach will lead us toward solutions for urgent problems
such as disguised religious conflicts in the Middle East.
In 1944, during World War II, based on a proposal submitted by the Japan National
Research Council, the Institute of Statistical Mathematics (ISM) was founded under the
Ministrer of Education. After the war, under the US occupation, the ISM’s mission shiftedfrom military operations-focused research to the reorganization of official statistics and theestablishment of scientific systems of public opinion for Japan’s post-war democracy. Mostof the Japanese official statistics and survey research systems were established through the3THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

ISM’s various collaborations with other universities, institutes, and the government during
the decade following the end of the war.
Among others, the Japanese Literacy Survey is symbolically important as a nationwide
survey based on rigorous statistical random sampling theory. During the post-war period,
some US government officials advocated Roman-characterization of the Japanese language,
because they believed that the use of Chinese characters presented difficulties within
education and daily life. However, they did not immediately impose their opinions on theoccupied country. Instead, they respected the Japanese people and sought reliable andtrustworthy individuals to carry out surveys to aid policy-making, and allowed them to decide
what was required for the development of democracy. That was the American model ofpolicy-making that prevailed in post-war Japan. It can be contrasted with the current
approach that has created confusion in the Middle East.
In 1948, the ISM played a central role in leading an interdisciplinary team under the
Ministry of Education to carry out the national Japanese Literacy Survey. Although statisticalrandom sampling theory formulated by the Japanese statistician, Toyojiro Kameda, dates
back to 1924, it had not yet been linked to the development of public opinion polls (Yoshino,
1997, 2005a). Japanese researchers used available texts in the library of the Supreme
Commander for the Allied Powers headquarters to develop a practical random sampling
method appropriate for Japan. The results confirmed sufficient literacy among the Japanesepeople for developing a post-war democracy, and this eventually saved the Japanese language
from possible social confusion (i.e., Roman-characterization).
Following the 1948 US presidential election, it was reported that the election result
forecast, based on a public opinion survey, was a failure. Japanese researchers studied thereasons for the failure in detail. They noted the contrast with the quota sampling of the USA;they utilized the ideal statistical random sampling method invented in Japan, where an almost
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complete nationwide registration list of residents or voters was available for public opinion
surveys. The Japanese public opinion survey methodology is probably the most democratic,
worldwide, although it is questionable whether the available survey data are fully utilized inpolicy-making.
Based on the statistically rigorous methodology developed for the literacy survey, theISM initiated the Japanese National Character Survey in 1953 to ascertain people’s attitudes,
opinions, and social values in daily life. This survey, which has been ongoing for over 60
years (Hayashi, 1992a, 1992b; Mizuno et al., 1992; Sakamoto et al., 2000; Yoshino, 1997), isa globally unique longitudinal survey supported by the Ministry of Education. It has
subsequently prompted similar types of statistical surveys in other countries such as
ALLBUS (Germany), CREDOC (France), Eurobarometer, the European Values Survey, and
the General Social Survey (GSS) in the US.
The term “national character” has been considered problematic both within academics
and politics. We use this term, simply to imply characteristics reflected in people’s response
patterns within questionnaire-based surveys. This usage may be closely related to Inkeles’(1997) concept of national character based on the statistical modes of people’s responses.
Beginning in 1971, the Japanese national character survey was extended to covercross-national surveys for acquiring a more advanced understanding of the Japanese national
character in a comparative context (Hayashi, 1973). In designing questionnaires for thesenationwide surveys, we selected items to compare peoples’ social values, their ways ofthinking and their feelings, and, more explicitly, their cultural identities, interpersonal
relationships, leadership qualities, religious attitudes, and social values related to science andtechnology, politics, economy, social security, and freedom of speech. These aspects may
yield information on psychological distances between nations or races, as evidenced bycertain response patterns. Based on the survey data, our research team has been attempting to5THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

quantitatively ascertain peoples’ attitudes and values, as well as the characteristics of theircivilizations. Our ultimate goal is to develop a behaviormetric study of civilizations based onsocial survey data as this will provide critical information for the peaceful development of theworld (Hayashi, 1998, 2000; Hayashi et al., 1998; Yoshino, 2000, 2001, 2005a, 2005b, 2006,
2007a, 2007b, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, in press; Yoshino, Hayashi, & Suzuki, 1995; Yoshino& Khor, 1995; Yoshino & Osaki, 2013; Yoshino, Zheng, & Phark, 2003; Zheng, Yoshino, &Murakami, 2006).
As a scientific study, the cross-national survey must overcome multifaceted
methodological problems, including cross-national comparability, given differences inquestionnaire languages or statistical sampling methods. Thus, an important problem of ourstudy is to identify conditions under which meaningful cross-national comparability of social
survey data is guaranteed, or the degree of cross-national comparability that is obtained. This
problem entails several analytical and methodological sub-problems. These relate to thefollowing: 1) translation (i.e., the same questionnaire items must be written in different
languages), 2) comparison of data sets collected using different sampling procedures indifferent countries, 3) characterization of nations or races (i.e., ascertaining the aspects anddegrees of similarity and dissimilarity of certain nations or races), and 4) description ofnations or races in terms of a common logic rather than a particularistic logic of a nation or
race. These sub-problems are complementary in the sense that their solutions are interrelated.
Some of our findings on these topics have been reported in our past publications (Hayashi,
2002; Hayashi & Yamaoka, 2002; Yoshino, 1995a, 1995b, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2007a, 2007b;
Yoshino, Hayashi, & Yamaoka, 2010). They have led to our utilization of multidimensional
data analysis such as the Quantification Method III (mathematically equivalent tocorrespondence analysis or optimal scaling)(Hayashi, 1993) to address problems oftranslation and the use of different sampling methods.
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Regarding the fourth problem, we have not yet established a methodology, and are stillengaged in a trial and error process regarding the description of nations or races in terms of acommon logic (e.g., Confucianism or human rights and freedom).
We have advanced toward a scientific foundation for cross-national comparison based on
our established methodology. This can be applied for developing mutual understanding
worldwide; predicting mass behavior within a certain nation in response to a particular event;predicting the political determination of a particular nation in international relations;acquiring scientific understanding of the rise and fall of civilizations; and investigating ideal
conditions in Japan and in the world for developing and maintaining world peace.
The remaining sections of this paper are organized as follows. In section 2, we briefly
outline our paradigm called Cultural Manifold Analysis (CULMAN). Although several books
and papers have been already published on this topic (Yoshino, 2005, 2013, 2014; Yoshino &Hayashi, 2001; Yoshino, Hayashi, & Yamaoka, 2010; Yoshino, Nikaido, & Fujita, 2009), we
provide a brief summary. In section 3, we elucidate the extension of comparability throughconnections established between local charts, which is a key concept in manifold analysis.
Although the analysis is still experimental, we provide some examples that suggest
possibilities for comparing people beyond countries and times. In section 4, we provide basic
details for each country or region included in our most recent survey, the Asia-Pacific Values
Survey (APVS). This includes its relationship with Japan, racial and religious composition,and stage of economic development. In the final section, we comment on our future research.
For the details of the APVS, see the summary report (Yoshino, Shibai & Nikaido, 2015)
and the ISM’s website of cross-national comparative survey(http://www.ism.ac.jp/~yoshino/index_e.html).

2. Survey Paradigms
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2.1 From Cultural Linkage Analysis (CLA) to Cultural Manifold Analysis (CULMAN)
During the early phase of our cross-national survey research, we developed a paradigm
that we called cultural linkage analysis (CLA) (Yoshino & Hayashi, 2002). This approach isbroadly outlined below.
In our search for conditions that could assure meaningful cross-national comparability ofsocial survey data, we decided at the start that a comparison of two nations (or social groups)
with some similarities and some dissimilarities would be more meaningful than attempting tocompare two totally different nations (or social groups). Our task, then, was to investigate theaspects and degrees of similarity and dissimilarity of people (or social groups) belonging todifferent nations.
Our survey research on “data science” (Hayashi, 2001; Yoshino, 2001, 2007b), based on
the principles of complementarity, is oriented toward particular practical problems. Here themeaning of “complementarity” is multifold, and covers the following aspects:
1) Complementarity of methodologies: data collection versus theory.
2) Complementarity in the range of aspects being investigated: analysis of a single aspectversus a synthetic study of various aspects.
3) Complementarity in areas or nations that are being compared: a local region versus a moreglobal (wider) area.
4) Complementarity in statistical scaling: unidimensional scaling versus multidimensional
pattern analysis.
***Table 1***
We commenced our cross-national survey with a comparison of Japanese in Japan with
Americans of Japanese ancestry in Hawaii (Honolulu residents) in 1971. Table 1 shows a listof our previous cross-national surveys. Some of these nations or areas share certain common
features such as race or language. Therefore, they provide meaningful links for comparison.
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Extending these links may eventually create a chain for global cross-national comparison (seeFigure 1a).
By developing the idea of spatial comparison in relation to temporal and thematiccomparisons, we eventually formulated CLA. This incorporated spatial linkages as describedabove (Figure 1a), temporal linkages inherent in longitudinal analysis (Figure 1b), anditem-structure linkages inherent in the commonalities and differences in item response
patterns within and across different cultures (Figure 1c) (Yoshino, 2005a). This is theunderlying idea of CLA, which was developed by Chikio Hayashi in 1978. This approach
may be contrasted to Ronald Inglehart’s World Values Survey (2015) that covers culturally
diverse countries, worldwide, using a single set of question items.
*** Figures 1a, 1b, and 1c******Figure 2***In light of Hayashi’s work, Yoshino (2005a) and his colleagues began developing the
CULMAN paradigm, which introduces hierarchical structures into the three types of links
within the CLA framework. The manifold concept originates in geometry. For this approach,a global map, consisting of a set of local charts is constructed. Each local chart covers aparticular area or region in a simple manner (e.g., based on a Euclidean plane). Some of thesemay partially overlap. The whole set of charts covers the globe (e.g., a non-Euclidean space).
The set of charts may compose a sort of hierarchical structure, where each level of charts may
correspond to a certain expanse of coverage (e.g., Japan and China, Asia, Eurasia, or theworld), and a larger chart corresponds to a higher level (see Figure 3). Furthermore, a larger
chart may be associated with less restricted cross-national scalability. In this approach, theconcept of a spatial chart can be extended to both the temporal and item-structure links (SeeSec.3).
***Figure 3***
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According to the manifold concept, the connection of local (regional) charts results in an
intrinsic geometrical structure. A pair of overlapping charts may constitute a larger chart if
these are adequately linked to assure their comparability (or common scalability). This is
explained in Section 3.

2.2 Cross-National Comparability
The procedure for our cross-national surveys generally consists of the following eight steps.
Step 1: Designing a Japanese questionnaire.
Step 2: Designing a questionnaire in a foreign language (translation and back-translation).
Step 3: Choosing a survey sampling method.
Step 4: Developing a semi-final version of the questionnaire.
Step 5: Conducting a test survey based on a small sample to finalize the questionnaire.
Step 6: Conducting a nationwide survey (data collection).
Step 7: Data cleaning (including recoding response categories).
Step 8: Data analysis (cross-tabulation and pattern analysis).
These eight steps are closely interrelated and are controlled through feedback to
overcome problems of comparing cross-national survey data. Some points to note areprovided below.
For step 1, we may utilize previous well-established surveys such as the Japanese
National Character Survey. Regarding translation-back translation in step 2, if we compare
the response distributions of two nations for a single item, it may be difficult to ascertain
whether a difference is intrinsic or the result of translation, because some slight change in thewording may lead to a 10 to 15% change in the response rate. However, if we compare theresponse patterns of several nations for many of the items by performing multidimensional
data analysis (e.g., correspondence analysis or Hayashi’s quantification method III), we may
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be able to ignore the influence of minor differences in wording entailed in translation
processes (Yoshino & Hayashi, 2002).
Regarding step 3, many countries may apply their own established sampling methods incross-national comparative surveys. These include random sampling based on a residential
list, random-route sampling, or quota sampling associated with the random walking method.
In addition, some survey companies frequently modify response percentages throughweighting for age, gender, and rate of absence (rate of unavailability at the time ofinterviewing). These differences in sampling highlight the problem of cross-national
comparability.
The robustness of outputs in multidimensional analyses is confirmed for sampling
differences. That is, in contrast to the examination of a single item, when comparing datafrom several countries for a group of items, we can disregard differences in sampling
methods within a total configuration obtained by performing multidimensional data analysis(Yoshino & Hayashi, 2002). In addition, falsified data can be detected by applying
multidimensional scaling according to what we refer to as the superculture model (Yoshino,
1992a, 1992b, 2001). Here again, we can confirm the power of multidimensional analysis, as
explained for the back-translation of items.
Regarding step 8, we have repeatedly reported national variations in general response
tendencies of questionnaire surveys. For example, the Japanese tend to avoid polar answers
and prefer the intermediate response categories, the French tend to choose negative categories,
while Indians tend to choose optimistics categories (Yoshino, Hayashi, & Yamaoka, 2010;
Yoshino, 2009, Sec.2). Moreover, surveys conducted by Hayashi and Suzuki (1997) on
bilingualism in Japanese and English found that respondents who completed the Japanese
questionnaire tended to avoid polar answers and to choose the intermediate answer or “don’tknow” (DK) categories, whereas respondents who completed the English questionnaire
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tended to choose polar categories (“very”), regardless of whether they were Japanese or
American. Furthermore, the Japanese respondents were as individualistic and optimistic as
the Americans when responding to a question in English (cf. Sapir’s and Whorf’s hypothesis
on linguistic relativity).
In a more recent study of survey data from the US, Australia, Singapore, and India, where
English is a public language, Yoshino (2001, 2014) has suggested that respondents using a“common language” in a multiracial country may have tended to produce polar answers
simply because they had difficulty expressing their subtle feelings or opinions in a country
where the common language was not necessarily the mother tongue of many residents(Yoshino, 2009, 2014). This may explain the findings of Hayashi and Suzuki (1997)
regarding the response tendencies of Japanese responding in English and those of Kuroda andSuzuki (1989) and Kuroda (1990) for comparative surveys on bilingual respondents in Arabic
and English, or in English and Japanese.
In a detailed analysis of differences in the response tendencies of Japanese immigrants in
Brazil, Hawaii, and the US West Coast, as well as gender differences, Yoshino (2009)concluded that general response tendencies in questionnaire surveys may be closely related tothe degree of self-disclosure for each nation or individual.
Moreover, we need to carefully examine possible situational differences in eachindividual’s response tendencies using a psychological scale such as a distress scale (anexample being the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale). For instance, a distress scale may
be used for a patient when there is an established relationship of trust between the patient andhis or her medical doctor. On the other hand, the same scale may be used in a social survey
questionnaire where an interviewer meets or calls an unknown respondent. This latter casemay lead to a paradoxical result. For example, the measurement on the scale showed thatJapanese males in their fifties were superficially the least distressed group, in spite of the fact
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that the suicide rate of this generation of males is the highest in Japan (Yoshino, Hayashi, &Yamaoka, 2010, pp. 108–111). This finding also seems to be closely related to the matter ofself-disclosure.
Thus, general response tendencies characterize people not only at a national level, butalso at the individual level, with some possible situational differences. Each nation iscomposed of different groups of personalities. Differences in the distribution of personalities
represent some important differences in national character between countries. Thus, it isimportant to distinguish between the study of individuals and the study of a total nation in our
analysis.
3. Extension of Comparability: Connections between Overlapping Local Charts
A key concept in manifold analysis entails the connection of two overlapping local charts.
A pair of partially overlapping charts may form a larger chart if they are adequately linked toguarantee their comparability (or common scalability). Aspects of comparability to beconsidered are: 1) comparability across two partially overlapping spatial charts, 2)
comparability over time of two temporal charts, and 3) comparability of question items on acommon theme. Here, four illustrative examples, omitting detailed empirical interpretations,are provided below (see Yoshino, in press).
***Table 2****** Figure 3 ***The first example illustrates spatial and temporal connections between two sets of local
charts based on an item of two Asian social values versus two Western social values (seeTable 2). The first chart depicts the seven-country survey (Japan, the US, and five European
countries surveyed from 1987–1993). The second chart depicts the EAVS (Japan, China[Beijing, Shanghai, Kunming, Hangzhou, and Hong Kong], Taiwan, South Korea, andSingapore which were surveyed from 2002–2005). It is noteworthy that Japan was surveyed
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in 1988 and 2002 and that the response patterns were almost the same for both surveys.
Assuming that peoples’ response patterns to the item remain relatively stable over a period ofyears, it may be justifiable to use Japan as a kind of connector between these two areas (theseven country chart and the East Asia Values Survey [EAVS] chart) to enable comparability
the two areas beyond difference in survey years (see Figure 3).
***Figure 3***The second example is a comparison of the countries surveyed for the APVS based on
items related to the teachings of Confucius (Table 3). These originated in ancient China andwere propagated in other Asian countries, including the Korean peninsula. Because of their
historical origin, we may not consider these teachings to be of as great cultural importance inWestern countries. However, responses in the US, for example, may be more positive
regarding some of the items than those in Asian countries. Moreover, regarding the four
options provided for the item in Table 2, the most commonly selected option in almost every
country was “love and respect for parents” (Q.34 of the APVS). Regarding the evaluation of
the importance of an item in daily life, the importance of family (Q. 18 of the APVS) scoredhighest in all the countries. The data suggest that “love and respect for parents” and“importance of family” may be universal social values beyond cultural differences (seeYoshino, in this issue for a more detailed argument). This is an example where certain
questionnaire items cover universal features, whereas other items emphasize the uniquenessof a culture, country, or area.
***Figures 4a and 4b ***The third example concerns international political relationships wherein each local chart(set) of countries corresponds to the degree of friendliness or similarity between countries
within a hierarchical manifold structure. However, the set of local charts may change in a
dynamic way in relation to the set of items chosen (see Figures 4a and 4b). Matsumoto
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THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014(2006) and Fujita and Yoshino (2009) have also provided examples that indicate a sort oftrade-off between the range of countries studied and the depth of analysis regarding certain
items such as people’s sense of trust of social systems or institutions. Here, item 2) of thepreviously mentioned principles of complementarity should be noted (Sec.2).
***Figures 5a and 5b***
The final example concerns religion. The Japanese word for religion is Shuu-Kyo. This
word was coined during the Meiji Restoration era (1868–1912) as a combination of the words
Shuu and Kyo. Shuu means something essential or universal beyond description throughwords or pictures, although some religious sects used certain words or pictures as a“mandala” to symbolize the essence for ordinary people.

Kyo means teachings. During thisperiod when many new technologies and concepts were being imported into Japan, theJapanese occasionally needed to coin new words for new concepts or things. Our Japanesenational character survey shows that some 60–70 percent of Japanese think that religious
attitudes (or “hearts/minds”) are important, even though only one third or less have religious
faiths. Christians or Muslims would have some difficulty understanding this situation. The
question that arises is: why do some Japanese individuals lack a religious faith even though
they consider religious attitudes (hearts/minds) to be important? The answer to this question
may be closely related to the Japanese concept of Shuu-kyo which is more universal in somesense than what the conception of Western or monotheist individuals, although the subtle
differences between “religion” and Shuu-kyo can never be completely explained.
In all of our past cross-national surveys, two items on religion have been included. These
are: (1) Do you have any personal religious faith? (2) Without reference to any of theestablished religions, do you think a religious mind is important, or not? It should be noted
here that “mind” is sometimes replaced with “attitude” or “heart/mind.” Shuu-kyo teki na
kokoro (religious mind) is also difficult to translate into other languages.
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Our previous data show, for example, that a much higher percentage of people from theWest (the US, France, West Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands) have religious faiths
compared with Asians. Regarding the response rate for the cross-tabulation of questions (1)and (2) for the EAVS data, Hayashi (2013) has suggested a possible method for examining
religious attitudes/minds in cross-national comparisons of Asian and Western countries. Thisentails comparing figures for those who have religions in Western countries (or monotheism)with figures for those who have religions and/or those who think “religious attitudes orhearts/minds are important” (see Figures 5a and 5b). Although this may not be an ideal
approach, it does seem to be a reasonable one for considering the differences between
religion and Shuu-kyo.

4. An Overview of the Countries in the APVS.
To provide a reference frame for understanding the studies in this issue, we focus on eachcountry’s or region’s relationship with Japan, its racial and religious composition, and stageof economic development. These details are mainly derived from Hirano and Makita (2007)
and Kyodo News (2008).
4.1 Japan
The Census of 2012 revealed that Japan’s population is about 128 million. The Statistics
Bureau of Japan forecasts a population decrease to less than 100 million by 2055. The Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook (2014) shows Japan’s religious distribution:
Shintoism (83.9%), Buddhism (71.4%), and Christianity (2.0%). However, our Japanesesurvey in 2010 showed that 26% of Japanese have “religious faith.” After World War II,
Japan formed a strong alliance with the US and retained a minimal military defense allocation,
factors that fuelled Japan’s rapid economic growth. Japan’s GDP was ranked second, globally,
from 1968 up to 2009, when it was superseded by China. Even though its economy was16THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

seriously damaged by the “bubble corruption” of the 1990s, and the global financial crisis in
the 2000s, Japan remains one of the leading economic powers.
The East Japan Mega Earthquake and megatsunami occurred on March 11, 2011.
Subsequently, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was critically damaged, releasing
radioactive materials. Despite citizens’ apprehension of further nuclear accidents, Prime
Minister Abe decided to recommence nuclear power plant installation to boost Japan’s
economy. Japan has had serious disputes with China and Taiwan over the Senkaku Islands,
following their nationalization by the Japanese government in 2012. However, the Japaneseand Chinese governments have subsequently managed to avoid serious conflicts.

4.2 People’s Republic of China (Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong)
With a population of about 1.36 billion people (National Bureau of Statistics of China,2013), China is the world’s most populous country. Because of geographical and logisticalsampling difficulties, we decided that rather than conducting a nationwide survey in all areasof the People’s Republic of China, it would be more practical and ultimately more accurate
and reliable if we restricted our target population to the country’s two most important cities,
and to the commercially influential territory of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong, formally called the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of thePeople’s Republic of China, spans the peninsula and small islands located off China’s
southern coast. It has a population of about seven million people (World Bank, 2013), and is
widely known as one of the most densely populated regions of the world. Shanghai and
Beijing have the second and the third largest populations, respectively, of all the Chinese
cities. The majority of Chinese people are of the Han race. China’s major religions are
Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. Although China’s constitution guarantees freedom of
religion, the government has imposed a de facto restriction on religious practice. We,
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therefore, had to make some adjustments to the items on politics and religion in our Chinese
language questionnaire.
The Chinese economy, on the whole, has grown rapidly since its shift from a centrally
planned system to a more market-oriented, fundamentally capitalist system in the late 1970s.
In 2009, China superseded Japan as the world’s second largest economy with only the US
ahead of it. Its GDP grew at an annual rate of 10% during the five years following 2003.
However, more recently, a slight slowing down of the Chinese economy has been widely
perceived. As of 2013, China’s real growth rate was recorded at 7.7% (CIA, 2014). However,GDP per capita is still quite low at $9,800 (CIA, 2014). For this statistical category, China isranked 121st in the world. This means that despite its overall size and influence, it isdecidedly in the ranks of the world’s developing countries. Chinese society is also quite
unequal. Since the economic liberalization in the 1970s, the income gap appears to have moreor less consistently widened, and is now considered to pose a major political and social
problem within China.
In 1972, Japan and the People’s Republic of China established diplomatic relations.
However, their relations, both at the governmental level and in terms of popular feelings,
have not been warm, mainly because of disputed perceptions of historical conflict. For
instance, in April 2005, some months before the implementation of our China Survey of 2005,
anti-Japanese demonstrations occurred in big cities, including Beijing and Shanghai,
triggered by objections to the content of Japanese high school history textbooks on events
during World War II, and the visit to the Yasukuni Shrine of the then Japan’s Prime Minister,Jyun-ichiro Koizumi. More recently, territorial disputes over the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu in
Chinese), a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, as well as another visit to the
Yasukuni Shrine by the current Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, in December, 2013, were amongthe “hot button” issues that increased tensions between the two countries.
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Hong Kong’s sovereignty was transferred from the United Kingdom to China in 1997.
Ninety-five percent of Hong Kong’s population is Chinese. Per capita GNI in Hong Kong ismore than 10 times that of mainland China. Understandably, such significant disparity inwealth and in levels of economic development has led to considerable challenges ingovernance and politics. While the PRC government in Beijing has attempted to restrict
access to Hong Kong for most ordinary people in mainland China, Hong Kong continues tobe a magnet for undocumented migrants seeking economic opportunities and a new start tolife. Beyond access and border control, issues of institutional policy and the underlying
political philosophy have proved to be challenges for Chinese authorities. After the handoverof Hong Kong’s sovereignty in 1997, the Chinese government has, by and large, refrained
from radically altering the territory’s democratic institutions under the so-called “one country,
two systems” approach. Nevertheless, the actual level of autonomy granted has been apersistent source of frustration for a sizeable proportion of Hong Kong’s population. In
September, 2014, an amendment to the electoral law that would, to all practical purposes,
have ensured Beijing’s tight control over who could be elected as the Chief Executive, theterritory’s highest political office, set off mass protests and demonstrations that continued forsome months.

4.3 Taiwan
According to the 2010 Census, Taiwan’s population is over 20 million but the population
growth rate is only 0.25%. Population aging is a continuing trend in Taiwan, similar to or
faster than that in Japan. The main ethnic groups are Taiwanese (including Hakka) andmainland Chinese, with many indigenous groups (2.2% of the population). These include:
Amis (0.8%), Atayal (0.4%), Bunun (0.1%), Rukai (0.1%), Puyuma (0.1%), Truku (0.1%),
Tsou (0.03%), Saisiyat (0.03%), and others (0.1%). The religious distribution comprises a
19

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mixture of Buddhists and Taoists (93%), Christians (4.5%), and others (2.5%). The prevailing
languages are Mandarin (the official language) and Taiwanese, but some people speak Hakka
dialects, indigenous languages, and others (CIA, 2014). After Taiwan lost its UN membershipto the People’s Republic of China in 1971, many countries broke off diplomatic relations
with Taiwan, with only 23 countries currently retaining diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Although Japan also broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1972, economic andcultural exchanges in the private sector have continued. It was the Taiwanese who firstimported the Japanese culture of cartoons and comics. Generally, people in Taiwan havepro-Japanese feelings, and the annual number of visitors from Japan currently exceeds one
million.
Taiwan was under the Chinese Nationalist Party’s control during the Cold War. In the
1990s, however, Taiwan accomplished the peaceful transfer of power from the Chinese
Nationalist Party to the Democratic Progressive Party. According to the Corruption
Perceptions Index of 2013, implemented by Transparency International, Taiwan ranks 36th
among 177 nations in the world and 7th among 28 nations in the Asia Pacific. Japan’scorresponding ranks are 18th and 5th, respectively.

Also, the “freedom in the world” ranking

of Freedom House (2015) shows that Taiwan was classified as having a democratic form ofgovernment, and was given the highest point on the seven-point rating for political rights, andthe second highest point for civil liberties.
Taiwan’s economy has also developed since the 1990s. National Statistics, Republic ofChina (Taiwan) (2015), shows that GDP at prevailing prices was 7.28 trillion NT$ in 1995;
10.19 trillion NT$ in 2000; 11.74 trillion NT$ in 2005; and 13.55 trillion NT$ in 2010.
Exports have always been very important for Taiwan’s economic development. Taiwan has
signed some free trade agreements in the Asia Pacific. These include: the Economic
Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China in June 2010, the Agreement
20THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

between New Zealand and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, andMatsu on Economic Cooperation (ANZTEC) in July 2013, and the Agreement between
Singapore and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu on
Economic Partnership (ASTEP) in November 2013. Taiwan was also negotiating with
Malaysia in 2014.
Taiwan has serious disputes with China and other countries over the Spratly Islands andScarborough Reef and with Japan over the Senkaku Islands. The areas are connected to
Taiwan’s trade and security through its sea-lane.

4.4 The United States of America
The US has had a preponderant influence on many aspects of Japanese society, culture,and politics from its diplomatic policy to the structure of its legal system, its pop culture, andthe direction of education. However, this does not necessarily mean that the general public ineither country knows or understands much about the other’s culture, or the ways in whichpeople think about important issues of the day. This probably has to do partly with some
intrinsic difficulties in maintaining a military-political alliance between nation-states thatdiffer greatly in terms of their underlying cultural consciousness, or the ways in which
national identity is woven into state power. Japan is a deeply secular state where people’s
behaviors and customs are nevertheless bound by deep-seated tradition. By contrast,
Americans are highly religious even though America’s political and economic institutions
have been rationalized and depersonalized to a greater extent than in any other country.
The total fertility rate in the US is still relatively high for a major advanced economy, andis estimated to be around 1.97, for the 5-year period from 2010 to 2015. It is also expected tostay near the replacement level until at least the middle of the twenty-first century (OECD,2013). The country’s population is 308.7 million. Relative to the year 2000, the total
21

THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

population has increased by 27.9 million people (US Census Bureau, 2015). The fastest
growth has occurred within the Hispanic subpopulation during the decade between 2000 and2010, constituting about 16% of the total US population, and comprising the single largest
non-white minority group. African-Americans constitute about 13% of the population, while
Asians account for about 5%, though this group has also seen rapid growth in recent years,
increasing by 43% between 2000 and 2010. In terms of denominational affiliations,Protestantism constitutes a strong majority in the United States. According to the American
Religious Identification Survey in 2008, about 76% of the total adult population identified
themselves as being some sort of Christians. Of these, about 33% were Catholics. Adherentsof other religions such as Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism are relatively
few in proportion to the country’s ethnic and racial diversity, and are reported to be about 3%of the total population. However, in the aforementioned survey, nearly 20% of respondents
either did not specify a religion or refused to respond to this question.
For Japan, the US is the dominant influence and is, in fact, often practically the soleguiding state in deciding its diplomatic stance. However, for the US, Japan is but one actor
among many in a geographical region that only a minority with specialized interests knows orcares about. Too often, Japanese tend to think of the US in terms of binary stereotypes; asbeing emblematic of greatness and fostering admiration, or as symbolizing arrogance andpromoting hostility, resistance, or anger (Hirano & Makita, 2007, p. 51).
It is perhaps time for the Japanese people to develop a more nuanced, subtle, and fuller
understanding of the actual working of the US and of its culture.

4.5 Republic of Korea
About a quarter of the population is Buddhist and another quarter is Christian, although
Korean Christians retain some Confucian customs. Korea has achieved rapid development so
22THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

that its current per capita GNI, while not as large as that of Japan ($46,140), is sizeable at$25,920 (World Bank, 2013). Consequently, the country now solidly ranks among theworld’s developed economies. Perhaps, even more impressive than any summary statistics at
the aggregate level, is the manifestly visible success of some of Korea’s largest corporations
in rapidly establishing footholds in the global market. In the last 5 to 10 years, for instance,
Samsung’s smartphones and consumer electronics and Hyundai’s automobiles have enjoyedspectacular successes in expanding their market shares globally. Consequently, thesecompanies now rival, or even exceed, in the eyes of many observers, their Japanesecounterparts as East Asia’s most powerful exporters of consumer goods. This large-scale
success in the international mass market for end products seems remarkable, given that South
Korea is considerably smaller than Japan with a population of about 50 million people as of2013 (Statistics Korea, 2014), and that it is still technically in a state of truce with its
neighbor, North Korea. On the other hand, recently there was one major man-madecatastrophe that seems to have brought extensive social and political damage to the Koreannational psyche. On April 16, 2014, the passenger ferry, Sewol, capsized and sank off thecoast of southeastern Korea, killing more than 300 people, a great majority of whom werehigh school students on a school trip. According to various news outlets, this major disasterhas forced many people in Korea to reflect on whether the country has been pursuing material
wealth and economic development too rapidly, even at the expense of basic safety andcaution.
People in the Republic of Korea have deep anti-Japanese sentiment because of Japan’s
annexation and occupation of Korea during the first half of the twentieth century. Diplomatic
relations between the two countries are still often tense because of problems of historicalinterpretation and disputes over the ownership of Takeshima Island (Dokdo in Korean).
Furthermore, political and diplomatic tensions have significantly increased during the last23

THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

couple of years since Shinzo Abe became Japan’s prime minister in 2012, and Park Geun-hye
became the president of South Korea in 2013. Both leaders are known for their conservative,
nationalist stances. However, Japanese culture, as portrayed in books and movies, is popularin Korea. Pirated Japanese books and movies have long been circulated in Korea. After
President Kim Dae-jung abolished the restrictive policy toward Japanese culture in 1998,
cultural exchanges between the countries have increased greatly (e.g., Kim, Agrusa, Lee, &Chon, 2007).

However, partly because of the aforementioned recent political developments,

such trends of civilian friendship and cultural exchange appear to have experienced somesetbacks. In 2014, for instance, Japanese tourists visiting South Korea declined by 15.4%,
relative to the previous year (Korean Tourist Bureau, 2014). On the other hand, while thenumber of Korean tourists visiting Japan has been relatively constant in the last few years(JNTO, 2014), it remains to be seen whether there could be any fundamental improvement inrelations between the two countries at the political level.

4.6 Singapore
Singapore’s population mainly consists of three ethnic groups: Chinese (74%), Malayan(13%), and Indian (9%). The country has four official languages; Chinese, Malay, Tamil, andEnglish. Singapore faces a serious declining birth rate, partly because of the government’s
past family policies such as the “Girl or Boy, Two is Enough” campaign (Government ofJapan, Cabinet Office, 2009). The government has tried to prevent its population from rapidly
declining by changing not only family policy but also immigration policy (Kyodo News,
2014). This immigration policy, however, is unpopular among Singaporeans, because they
feel that the current rapid increase in the number of immigrants makes it difficult for them tofind jobs and residences (Tamura, 2013).
Since gaining independence from Malaysia in 1965, Singapore has continued on a path of24

THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

rapid economic growth so that it currently demonstrates the highest level of economic
development in Asia in terms of per capita GDP. The country is a hub of free trade
agreements with countries, worldwide. Singapore’s political system has resulted in themaintenance of a stable authoritarian political regime, governed solely by the People’s Action
Party (PAP). However, in the 2011 general election, more members of parliament from
opposing parties than previously were inducted. Some argue that this is a sign that Singapore
is heading for democratization (Tamura, 2013).
Regarding the diplomatic dimension, Singapore has supported the maintenance of apower balance between great powers such as the US, Russia, and China. Furthermore,
Singapore has sustained its initiative of creating and managing international frameworks suchas the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) (Leifer, 2000,
Chapter 5) .

4.7 Vietnam
In the course of its long history, Vietnam has been invaded frequently by other countries.
China conquered Vietnam several times in the ancient past; France colonialized Vietnam
from 1887; and Japan occupied the country from 1941. Subsequently, France tried toreoccupy Vietnam in 1945, and in 1949 the US provided aid to France in its attempts toretake North Vietnam. Immediately after the withdrawal of the US from Vietnam, China
invaded the Paracel Islands in 1974 and has controlled the islands ever since. Vietnam is stillengaged in a serious dispute with China over the South China Sea, including the Paracel
Islands.
Vietnam was partitioned into North and South Vietnam for some three decades until theirreunification in 1976. However, in 1978, the country was isolated from the international
community when the Vietnamese military invaded Cambodia. Consequently, Vietnam’s
25

THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

social and economic development was greatly delayed, until it rejoined the international
community in the 1990s. Vietnam became a member of ASEAN and normalized relations
with the US in 1995, joined APEC in 1998, and joined WTO in 2007. English is increasingly
being incorporated as the country’s second language.
As part of Vietnam’s Doi Moi (economic reforms) initiated in 1986, Vietnam’s
Communist Party transformed the centrally planned economy into a market economy. Since
then, the economy has developed, especially during the 2000s. The GDP at prevailing prices
was US$26.336 billion in 1986, US$33.640 billion in 2000, and US$115.931 billion in 2010.
However, rapid economic development has also brought serious problems such as official
corruption and bribes (World Bank, 2013). Vietnam ranks 116th among 177 nations in theworld and 18th among 28 nations in the Asia Pacific in the Corruption Perceptions Index in2013. Its ratings relating to political rights and civil liberties of “Freedom in the World” were
7 (the worst score) and 5 (classified as “not free”), respectively, in 2013.
The 2009 Census showed that Vietnam’s population was some 85 million. The Kinh are
the main ethnic group in Vietnam (85.7%), while ethnic minorities include the Tay (1.9%),
Thai (1.8%), Khmer (1.5%), Muong (1.2%), Nùng (1.1%), Hoa (1.0%), and others (3.9%).
The religious distribution is as follows: no religion (80.7%), Buddhist (9.3%), Catholic(6.7%), Hoa Hao (1.5%), Cao Dai (1.1%), Protestantism (0.5%), Muslim (0.1%), and others(3.9%). We should note the distinction between “religion” and “religious (personal) faith.”
The former relates to some government-registered religious organizations, whereas the latteris concerned with personal faith such as folk beliefs and ancestor worship. In the APVS,
28.3% of respondents answered, “I have a religion” and 47.1% of them answered, “I have areligious faith.” The country’s languages are Vietnamese (official), English, French, Chinese,
Khmer, and the languages of the mountain areas (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian).

26

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4.8 Other Southeast Asian Countries
This section is supplemental for countries not covered by the APVS. Southeast Asian
countries vary in their levels of economic development and their domestic political regimes.
Singapore and Brunei are more affluent than Japan in terms of per capita GDP, while
countries such as Myanmar and Cambodia are still very poor. Regarding political regimes,
there are both stable democratic countries (e.g., Indonesia) and authoritarian countries (e.g.,
Cambodia). Some authoritarian countries in this region, such as Myanmar and Malaysia, haverecently shown a trend toward democratization. Myanmar has made radical changes in its
political system and has succeeded in improving its relationships with the US and otherdeveloped and democratic countries. Malaysia has never experienced a change of ruling party,
but opposing political parties have increased their membership within the parliament andoccupied 89 seats (out of a total of 222 seats) in the House in 2013.
Despite their diversity, these Southeast Asian countries have maintained their affiliations with
ASEAN, an international institution, since 1967. They are also sustaining their efforts to establish
an ASEAN community by 2015 to deepen political, economic, cultural, and security-related
cooperation.
If relations between Japan and the US have been characterized by a certain degree ofasymmetry, then it is also true that Japan’s relationships with Southeast Asian countries havebeen unbalanced in the sense that most Japanese do not seem to fully realize just how much
impact their country has had on historical and political developments in Southeast Asia.
However, it is certainly reasonable to suggest that Japan’s military ventures in this region
during World War II, as well as its subsequent economic penetration in search of labor andnatural resources, have had a major impact on the political, economic, and culturaldevelopment of Southeast Asian countries. Goodwin (2001) provides an example of asociological argument that identifies the historical role played by Japan as the single most27THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

consequential variable in explaining the nature of the political regimes in various Southeast
Asian countries since World War II. Other studies that provide more general information on
the politics, societies, and cultures in these countries include Fujimaki and Segawa (2003)
and a series of area study books on Southeast Asia published by Akashi-Syoten(http://www.akashi.co.jp/book/b183549.html). In any event, the history of Japan’s invasions
and military aggression in many of these countries almost necessitates that their public
opinion would be characterized by strong emotion and distrust.
Post-World War II relations between Japan and Southeast Asian countries have centeredon business, investment, and economic aid rather than on direct military intervention, andhave generally been productive. In terms of their cultures and societies, the Philippines,
Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand are all multiethnic, multilingual, and regionally segmented
countries that are internally very diverse. Singapore is a partial exception because it is too
small to be regarded as regionally segmented based entirely on ethnicity. It is also notablethat over the years, the Singaporean government has tried to deliberately integrate thedifferent ethnic groups, residentially, with varying degrees of success during different
historical periods (see Itobayashi, 2000 for more information). On the other hand, in recent
years, the influences of Western and Japanese popular cultures and lifestyles have been
pervasive, especially in the cities, adding yet another layer of cultural expression and identity
to these societies that have historically existed at the crossroads of commerce and cultural
exchange since pre-modern times.

4.9 The Commonwealth of Australia
The majority of Australians are of European, especially Anglo-Saxon, ancestry, and about
70 percent of Australians (the total population is about 23 million) are Christian. Recently,
the number of Asians has increased, accounting for up to 7% of Australians (Kyodo News,28

THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

2014). Although the Australian economy is small in size compared with Japan’s economy, its
level of economic development in terms of per capita GDP exceeds that of Japan.
Regarding international relations, Australian foreign policy, like Japan’s, is based on analliance with the US. At the same time, Australia has made efforts to join the Asianinternational political arena. It is one of the founding members of Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) and recently succeeded in becoming a member of the East Asian
Summit. Although Australia was directly attacked by Japan during World War II andAustralians were strongly antagonistic toward Japan, economic and cultural relationships
with Japan have been reactivated, especially since the 1970s (Hirano & Makita, 2007).
Currently, Australia (especially under a right-wing party government) and Japan havedeveloped political, military, and economic ties of cooperation, such as the Economic
Partnership Agreement signed in July 2014.

4.10 India
With a population of about 1.2 billion people, India is the second most populous nation in theworld after China. It is a highly diverse, multilingual, and multiethnic country. As of 2012, 22
languages had been formally recognized by the state through constitutional amendments. Of
these, 14 have been incorporated to mark a specific numerical value on the country’s
currency, the Indian rupee, which was re-designed in 1997 (Karashima et al., 2012, pp.
895–896). Although no language has national or official status, Hindi has been designated as
the language of public communication at the federal level (Karashima et al., 2012). India isalso religiously diverse. According to the Census of 2001, while Hindus constitute a large
majority, (about 80% of the population), Muslims account for 13.4%, and Christians andSikhs account for 2.3%, and 1.9%, respectively, of the population (Government of India,
Ministry of Home Affairs, 2014). A note of caution for researchers interested in studying
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India is that the country’s official data series, including census data, tend to be released quite
slowly and often in fragments. While a lot of potentially useful data for different research
purposes began to be released, starting around 2013, as of now it appears that the government
and its administrative branches are still in the process of sorting through and organizing dataon many relatively basic facets of life, including, for instance, religion.
This country of over a billion people has managed to function quite stably anduninterruptedly as the “world’s largest democracy” since gaining independence from Britain
in 1947. This may be considered as an accomplishment in itself, since so many developing
countries that have experimented with electoral democracy in the twentieth century haveexperienced interruptions or breakdowns in one form or another. The country’s history during
this period has not, however, been without tribulations or political disturbances. Secessionist
movements in some regions, Hindu and Islamist fundamentalism, and the general difficultyof constructing a unified Indian identity out of the myriads of competing castes, ethnicities,
and regional loyalties remain as some of the significant challenges facing the Indian state (seeKhilnani, 2004[1997]).
While for some time, India’s post-independence economy was organized around socialist
principles, in 1991 the country shifted to a policy of liberalization in trade and investment.
The information technology (IT) industry, in particular, has been stimulated by this new
approach, and India is now considered to be one of the world’s largest sources of engineersand programmers in this field. Supported by this development, business and trade relations
between India and Japan have also expanded and deepened, in spite of a temporary setback
caused by India’s nuclear testing in 1998 to which Japan strongly objected. On the other hand,as in China, rapid economic growth has to a considerable extent been achieved at the expenseof the environment. Pollution has become a major problem in recent years. For instance, it is
now reported that Delhi’s air quality is the most polluted in the world (The New York Times,
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May 8, 2014).

5. Toward a New Trustful Social System in the Twenty-First Century
The Japanese mind encompasses the world of an ambiguous self, multiple realities, andmultivalued attitudes (Hayashi & Kuroda, 1997). Japan is regarded by some as ahomogeneous society regarding individual opinions, but this is not the case in reality. Simply
because the Japanese tend to refrain from making definitive commitments to avoid possible
conflicts, they often appear as being ambiguous and homogeneous.
A new societal style demands a new type of social system. Bringing this about would firstnecessitate the destruction of the traditional system. A Japanese leader would have to think
about maintaining a balance between conserving fundamental human relational systems andthe quick destruction of obsolete social systems in the transitional age, as would leaders allover the world. However, over the last two decades, this destruction has gone too far, even inareas that require conservation, such as in the realm of maintaining trustful humanrelationships under misguided globalization. A positive side of ambiguity is that it may lead
us to generosity in accepting different social values, whereas a negative side is that it may
lead us to confusion or irresponsibility.
So far, we have explained the idea of “manifold” in the context of comparative surveys.
However, some regional communities of a global manifold have already been formed in thereal world. We may also be able to utilize CULMAN for policy-making in creating a balance
between a single restrictive regulation and a set of soft (or informal) rules according to their
spatial coverage (see Figure 6).
***Figure 6 ***In the literature on international politics, Lipson (1991) and Abbott and Snidal (2000)
have presented arguments on the comparative merits and demerits of informal or “soft”
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international rules and formal or “hard” ones. Goldstein and Martin (2000) point to thepossibility that the establishment of legalized or hard international rules may hinderinternational cooperation. Thus, if an international regulation is applied to a larger region, it
should be made less restrictive and adapted to local conditions. To achieve steady, peaceful,and prosperous development, we may need a set of “soft” regulations to connect pairs ofcommunities rather than opting for a single restrictive global standard.
Although Japanese ambiguity has long been criticized, the question is: can we not makeuse of its positive side as a strategy of generosity to enable us to connect local charts in aconstructive way that avoids conflicts between different cultures or races? It seems thatcurrent political confusions in the world are the result of insufficient scientific data analyses
and inadequate ways of studying cultural diversity in this time of globalization. Therefore, it
may be worthwhile to reconsider world policy from the viewpoint of the world as a cultural
manifold.
We hope that our survey research will provide some basic guidelines for evolving
mutual understanding of different cultures and peoples to realize peace and prosperity acrossthe globe.

32THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

Acknowledgments
This study was financially supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science(JSPS) (Grant-in Aid for Scientific Research [A] No. 18252001), Grant in Scientific Research
A (2) No. 14252013 (fiscal years 2002–2005), A (2) No. 18252001 (fiscal years 2006–2009)
and S No. 22223006 (fiscal years 2010–2014).

For several decades, our previous survey

research was financially supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science &Technology, JSPS, the Toyota Foundation, and the Sasagawa Peace Foundation. We extend
our sincere appreciation to the above organizations, as well as to all those who have assisted
and supported us in our work throughout the years.
The authors are very grateful to the late Prof. Chikio Hayashi (The Institute of Statistical
Mathematics), the late Prof. Frank Shotaro Miyamoto (University of Washington), Prof.
Tetsuden Kashima (University of Washington), Prof. Stephan S. Fugita (Santa Clara
University), Prof. Emeritus Yasumasa Kuroda (University of Hawaii), Prof. Emeritus Fumi
Hayashi (Toyo-Eiwa Women’s University), Prof. Emeritus Masamichi Sasaki (Hyogo
Kyoiku University), Prof. Kazue Yamaoka (Teikyo University), Prof. Yuejung Zheng(Doshisha University), Prof. Wataru Matsumoto (Kansai University), and Prof. Takahiro
Hoshino (Keio University). We could not have carried out our long-term cross-national
surveys without them. Last, the authors are grateful to Prof. Nicolaos Synodinos (Universityof Hawaii) for his valuable comments on an earlier draft of this paper, as well as Prof.
Takahiro Hoshino and two anonymous referees for their painstaking editorial work on thispaper.

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Table 1: List of main surveys on national character conducted by ISM in the past
1953 Ongoing Japanese National Character Survey (every 5 years)
1971

Japanese Americans in Honolulu, Hawaii

1978

Honolulu residents and mainland Americans

1983

Honolulu residents

1988

Honolulu residents

1987–1993

Seven Country Survey

1987

UK, FRG (West Germany), and France

1988

Americans in the US mainland and Japanese in Japan

1992

Italy

1993

The Netherlands

Recent Overseas Japanese Surveys
1991

Japanese Brazilians in Brazil

1998

Americans of Japanese ancestry on the US West Coast.

1999

Honolulu Residents in Hawaii

2002–2005

East Asia Values Survey (EAVS)Japan, China (Beijing and Shanghai), Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore
2004–2009

Pacific Rim Values Survey (PRVS)Japan, China (Beijing and Shanghai), Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, USA, Singapore, Australia, and India
2010–2014 Asia-Pacific Values Survey(APVS)Japan, China (Beijing, Shanghai], Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, USA, Singapore, Australia, India and Vietnam

Note 1: All of these surveys were conducted face-to-face, and were based on nationwide statistical random sampling data, except for Hawaii,
Brazil, Mainland China, i.e., Beijing and Shanghai (urban areas only), Australia (Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria), andIndia (10 major cities).
Note 2: Although the Japanese title of the survey project conducted from 2004–2009 literally means the Pacific Rim Values Survey, the title,“The Asia-Pacific Values Survey” was occasionally used for the project in a previous English publication, because it covered not only the
Pacific Rim area, but also India. Henceforth, we will use the following designations: the Pacific Rim Values Survey (effectively the firstround of the Asia-Pacific Values Survey) for the 2004–2009 project, and the Asia-Pacific Values Survey for the 2010–2014 project(effectively the second round of the Asia-Pacific Values Survey).

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THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

Table 2: Asian values versus Western values
This table shows response distributions in the Seven Country survey and the EAVS to the following
question (Q.33): “If you were asked to choose the two most important items listed on the card, which twowould you choose? a. Filial piety/love and respect for parents. b. Repaying people who have helped you in
the past. c. Respect for the rights of the individual. d. Respect for the freedom of the individual.” TheEAVS(2002-2005)

Seven Country Survey( (1987–1993)

categories are abbreviated as “par,” “ben,” “right” and “free,” respectively, in this table.

par&benpar&right

par&freeben&right

ben&freeright&free

Italy

23.7

29.2

26.3

4.4

2.5

14.0

France

19.3

13.7

20.4

8.4

11.4

26.8

West Germany

8.8

28.0

19.3

3.6

3.4

37.0

The Netherlands

11.6

30.1

26.3

2.7

1.1

28.2

UK

31.8

20.4

12.5

11.3

8.0

16.1

USA

19.5

39.4

12.5

6.3

2.8

19.6

Japan (1988)

47.4

13.7

19.5

4.8

6.9

7.8

Japan (2002)

47.2

13.5

18.8

4.8

8.1

7.6

Beijing

51.0

21.8

14.9

3.8

1.8

6.6

Shanghai

51.5

25.7

12.3

3.3

1.3

5.8

Hong Kong

35.6

16.3

29.1

4.1

5.7

9.2

Kunming

49.8

20.6

17.1

4.4

2.9

5.1

Hangzhou

48.6

22.5

16.1

4.5

2.6

5.8

Taiwan

56.7

19.5

14.2

3.2

2.8

3.6

S. Korea

45.2

21.7

19.2

4.0

3.4

6.5

Singapore

50.3

25.5

15.2

2.9

1.2

4.8

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Table 3: Teachings of Confucius (APVS). The results in this table reflect responses to the following question (Q.9): How do you feel about

each of the following traditional values?
1. Strongly Agree, 2. Agree, 3. Disagree, 4. Strongly Disagree
a. We should respect our ancestors.
b. The eldest son should look after his aging parents.
c. A wife should obey her husband.
d. You should not marry someone whom your parents object to.
e. We should respect the opinions of older people.
f. It is important to have a son to keep the family line going.
g. Men should work outside the home and women should tend to housekeeping.
The figures in this table show the percentage value of the sum of 1 (strongly agree) and 2 (agree) for
Q.9

Q9a

Q9b

Q9c

Q9d

Q9e

Q9f

Q9g

Japan

92

37

34

27

56

33

24

USA

97

54

41

34

62

51

22

Beijing

99

77

33

11

61

31

30

Shanghai

97

74

27

16

58

27

28

Taiwan

99

68

43

14

61

38

31

Hong Kong

95

79

44

10

61

31

30

South Korea

82

27

49

49

60

36

32

Australia

95

39

26

19

54

29

13

Singapore

96

55

66

39

82

47

29

India

99

87

85

85

96

75

67

Vietnam

100

77

77

43

94

73

44

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THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

One-dimensional linkage of comparison
Hawaii Residents

Americans on
the mainland

Americansborn on themainland

Non-JapaneseJapanese
Americans

Japanese

Extension of comparisons of local pairs will lead to a global comparison.

Figure 1a: An example of spatial linkages

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THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

Figure 1b: An example of temporal linkages
Each temporal chart covers a particular time, and all of the charts collectively constitute longitudinal linkages ofa time series comparison. Each chart may correspond to a certain set of items to study.

A Longitudinal Survey on “Japanese National Character”

First

SecondKS 1(1953)

KS2((1958)

13th
• •

••••

KS13
((2013)47

THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

Figure 1c: An example of an item-structure linkage
Relationships of similarity (commonalities) and dissimilarity are multidimensional. Each chart of countries orregions under comparison may correspond to a set of questionnaire items or a set of topics under study.

B

A

CV

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THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

Figure 2: Illustration of a hierarchy of charts (links) of a cultural manifold
Some charts may overlap within a hierarchy, and the structure may show dynamic changes over many decades.

The World

Asia

•••

EuropeEast Asia

China Japan •••

West

•••

America•••US

Germany Britain

•••

•••

Figure 2 (a): A hierarchy of spatial charts

Post-WWII

Showa Era (1945–1988)

Confusion during
the postwar
periodHeisei Era (1989–present)

Rapid
Economicindustrial
bubbledevelopment

Collapseof theeconomic
bubble•••Figure 2(b): A hierarchy of temporal charts

49

AfricaTHE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

General Daily Life

Politics•••

Medicine

Hospital Management

Medical care

Religions…

CultureFine Arts

Domestic Industry

Domestic Politics

International Politics…

EconomyFigure 2 (c):A hierarchy of item charts

50

THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014.

Seven Country Survey

Italy (1992)
France (1987)
West Germany (1987)
The Netherlands (1993)
UK (1987)

The EAVS

USA (1988)

Japan (1988) Japan (2002)
Beijing (2002)
Shanghai (2002)
Hong Kong (2002)
Kunming (2002)
Hanzhou (2002)
Taiwan (2003)
South Korea (2003)
Singapore (2004)

Figure 3: Connection of two local charts: the Seven Country Survey (1987–1993) and the
EAVS (2002–2005)
Japan showed almost the same response distributions in both of the surveys conducted in 1988 and 2002,
respectively, with respect to the item (see Table 2), and the response distributions of both surveys were almost
the same. These two charts may be integrated into a single larger chart to expand cross-national comparability
beyond time, based on the assumption that the response distribution on the item is stable over time in eachcountry

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THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

Figure 4a.

Optimal Scaling (SPSS) on the data of Q. 28 and Q. 31

A hierarchical manifold structure is evident here. The group of Asian countries and the group composed of the
US and Australia constitute separate pairs of local charts. In the Asian chart, India is separated from the chart ofthe other countries. Furthermore, in the chart that does not include India、there is a pair of charts: one consists ofJapan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Beijing, and Shanghai, and the other consists of South Korea, Singapore, andVietnam. The Eigenvalues of Axes 1 and 2 are 1.4 and 1.3, respectively.

Q28: Some people say that if we

get outstanding political leaders, the best way to improve the country is for the people to leave everything
to them, rather than for the people to discuss things among themselves. Do you agree with this, ordisagree? Q31: Please choose from among the following statements the one with which you agree most.
1. If individuals are made happy, then and only then will the country as a whole improve, 2. If the country
as a whole improves, then and only then can individuals be made happy, or 3. Improving the country andmaking individuals happy are the same thing.

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THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

Figure 4b: Optimal Scaling on the data of Q.28, Q.31, Q.50e, and Q.50i
The figure shows a pair of large overlapping charts. The chart on the right side consists of relatively developed
democratic countries, whereas the chart on the left side consists of non-democratic countries (or the Chinese
region). Hong Kong and India are located in the middle of the two overlapping charts. The question that arises
is: do Hong Kong and India function as connectors between these two charts, or are they simply located in the
middle because they are under transition, moving from one side to the other? The Eigenvalues of Axes 1 and 2
are 1.9 and 1.6, respectively.

See Fig.4a for Q.28 and Q31.

Q50: How much confidence do you havein the following? For each one, could you tell me how much confidence you have in them?

Howmuch confidence do you have in them? Are you very confident, somewhat confident, not confident or notconfident at all? e. Government. i. the United Nations.

53THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

Italy 1992
USA 1988
Singapore 2004
FRG 1987
Taiwan 2003
UK 1987
France 1988
The Netherlands 1993
South Korea 2003
Japan1988
Hong Kong 2002
Japan 2002
Hangzhou 2002
Kunming 2002
Figure 5a: Cross-national comparison of distributions of people who have/do not have areligious faith (have vs. not have], and of those for whom the religious mind/heart is/is notimportant (important vs. not important)
The left side of the figure shows percentages of people with a religious faith, whereas the right side shows thoseof people with no religious faith. There is a large discrepancy between Western and Asian countries.
Source: Adapted with permission from Hayashi, 2007 (IMPS).
FRG stands for Federal Republic Germany (West Germany before unification).

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THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

Figure 5b: Cross-national comparison of distribution of people with a religious faith or those
who think the religious mind/heart as important (have or important) versus the others (people
with no religious faith or who think the religious mind/heart as unimportant (not have & notimportant).
For this comparison, apart from mainland China, the discrepancy between Western and Asian countries
decreases. This may be one way of comparing them using a more meaningful scale.
Source: adapted, with permission, from Hayashi, 2007 (IMPS).

55“DK” stands for “Don’t know.”THE ASIA-PACIFIC VALUES SURVEY 2010-1014

The World

SAFTA(South Asia)

APEC (Asia-Pacific)

East Asia Summit
CER
ASEAN
+3

ASEAN

ASEAN

+6

(Oceania)

NAFTA(North America)

ALADIEC  EU(Latin America)

ECOWAS(West Africa)
EFTA

Figure 6: A manifold of communities in the world
Note: Some pairs of these communities may overlap, and the total set may constitute a sort of hierarchy as a
global manifold. To sustain steady, peaceful and prosperous development, we may need a set of “soft”
regulations to connect pairs of communities, rather than having a single restrictive global standard.

56