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Kimiko Ono
Edelman Japan
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TrustBarometerJapan@edelman.com

2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Reveals Unique Paradox in Japan
Only 15% of Japanese People Believe They Will Be Better Off in 5 years Despite Stable Economy& Near Record Low Unemployment
February 27, 2020 – TOKYO – The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals that despite a stable
domestic economy and near record low unemployment, only 15% of Japanese people believe they will
be better off in five years’ time.
While Japan did see a 3-point rise in the Edelman Trust Index versus 2019 among the general
population, the world’s third-largest economy ranked joint 24th out of 26 markets, alongside Brexitbound the UK and only above bottom place Russia. Trust in all four institutions tracked by Edelman—
government, business, media and NGO’s—rose modestly from last year. Business is the most trusted
institution in Japan among the general population, while media is most distrusted, continuing the same
trend seen last year.
Despite a deep sense of pessimism about the future, the Japanese are much less skeptical about thebenefits of capitalism, with only 35% agreeing with the statement “capitalism as it exists today does
more harm than good in the world”; versus 56% globally. Moreover, only 42% of Japanese respondents
said, “I worry about people like me losing the respect and dignity I once enjoyed in this country”, thesecond fewest of the 28 markets surveyed.
“Edelman’s 20th annual Trust Barometer reveals a unique trust paradox in Japan,” said Ross Rowbury
President of Edelman Japan. “People don’t believe they will be better off in the future, remain skepticalof institutions but haven’t lost faith in capitalism and still believe the system is inclusive and won’t leavethem behind”, added Rowbury.
Mirroring a global trend, Japan was one of the 23 markets with a double-digit trust gap between theinformed public and mass population. Of the four institutions, only business is trusted by the informed
public, with none trusted by mass population.
Edelman has evolved our model for measuring trust. We have identified two distinct attributes
competence (delivering on promises) and ethical behavior (doing the right thing and working to improvesociety) as the key drivers of trust.
No institution is seen in Japan as both competent and ethical. Business is the only institution viewed ascompetent, which offers business an opportunity to act as a catalyst for change.
In Japan, 85% of the people agree that it is important CEO’s speak out on social issues and almost 6out of 10 Japanese believe that CEO’s should take the lead on change rather than waiting forgovernment to impose it. The top three issues people in Japan want CEOs to speak out on include: theethical use of technology, training for jobs of the future and automation’s impact on jobs.
However, business is expected to serve stakeholders before shareholders. Some 91% of Japanese
respondents believe stakeholders, not shareholders, are most important to long-term company successcompared with 87% globally. And revealingly, half of Japanese respondents ranked customers as themost important stakeholder for business, compared with 38% globally.
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By sector, technology firms held on to their top spot as most trusted in Japan. However, over an 8-year
timeframe, the big movers are financial services and energy which have both recorded significant gains
in trust since the global financial crisis and Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Other key findings for Japan from the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer include:
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Among demographic groups, Gen Z (18-24-year-olds) are the most distrustful of institutions to
do what is right.
77% agree with the statement that “government does not understand emerging technologies
enough to regulate them.”
Public companies are the most trusted in Japan with family-owned companies the least trusted.
This distrust may reflect the impact of several high-profile disputes between members of familyowned firms in Japan over the last year.
After skyrocketing in 2019, trust in brand Japan came down to earth this year. Trust incompanies headquartered in Japan, fell in 14 of the 26 markets surveyed
Among South Korean respondents, trust in Japanese companies plummeted by 19 points to26%, likely reflecting the ongoing trade dispute between Japan and its nearest neighbor.
Search engines continue to be the most trusted source of news in Japan, more trusted than
traditional media by an increasingly large gap.

About Edelman
Edelman is a global communications firm that partners with businesses and organizations to evolve, promote
and protect their brands and reputations. Our 6,000 people in more than 60 offices deliver communications
strategies that give our clients the confidence to lead and act with certainty, earning the trust of theirstakeholders. Our honors include the Cannes Lions Grand Prix for PR; Advertising Age’s 2019 A-List; theHolmes Report’s 2018 Global Digital Agency of the Year; and, five times, Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work.
Since our founding in 1952, we have remained an independent, family-run business. Edelman owns
specialty companies Edelman Intelligence (research) and United Entertainment Group (entertainment,sports, lifestyle). For more information please visit: www.edelman.com
About the Edelman Trust Barometer
The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer is the firm’s 20th annual trust and credibility survey. The survey waspowered by research firm Edelman Intelligence and consisted of 30-minute online interviews conducted
between October 19 and November 18, 2019. The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer online survey sampled
more than 34,000 respondents, which includes 1,150 general population respondents across 28 markets and200 informed public respondents in each market, except China and the U.S., which have a sample of 500
informed public respondents each. All informed public respondents met the following criteria: aged 25-64,
college-educated; household income in the top quartile for their age in their country; read or watch
business/news media at least several times a week; follow public policy issues in the news at least several
times a week. For more information, visit https://www.edelman.com/trust-barometer2