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Prominent opinion leaders from Japan and South Korea agreed at a Tokyo forum May 11 to overcome the differences in historical perceptions and the territorial dispute between the two neighboring countries through future-oriented private-sector debate.

They also agreed that the sour bilateral relations should be rectified by finding common ground and common agendas on which both countries could collaborate to address pressing issues in East Asia, if not global ones.

The First Japan-Korea Future Dialogue, organized by the Genron NPO and South Korean think tank East Asia Institute (EAI), was attended by nine Japanese politicians, journalists and other prominent figures, including Yoriko Kawaguchi, former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kazuo Ogura,  former Ambassador to South Korea, and Shintaro Ito, a former Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs.

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This opinion poll in Japan was conducted through a method of door to door visitation of men and women over the age of 18 (excluding high school students) from March 30th to April 15th. The total number of valid responses obtained was 1,000. The respondents' highest level of education was 45.1% high school graduate, 20.8% junior college/technical college graduate, 19.7% Bachelor's degree and 2.5% Master's degree.

The opinion poll in South Korea, on the other hand, was carried out through interviews by poll takers with men and women throughout Korea over the age of 19, conducted from March 25th to April 15th. The number of valid responses obtained was 1,004 and the respondents' highest level of education was 39.5% high school graduate, 11.6% college student/drop-out (including technical schools), 33.2% Bachelor's degree and 1.4% Master's degree.

The Genron NPO and East Asia Institute further conducted surveys separate from these opinion polls with intellectuals from both Japan and Korea between early to mid April. In Japan, questionnaires were sent to 2,000 intellectuals who had previously participated in discussions and surveys conducted by the Genron NPO, from which 575 responses were obtained.

The occupations of the intellectuals who responded included 20.7% company executives, 3.3% in media occupations, 3% national government officials, 2.1% local government officials, 0.9% politicians/party affiliates, 33.6% academics/researchers, 5.9% NPO/NGO members, 5.7% affiliates from each organization, 5.4% students, 3.1% self-employed, and 16.3% other. Intellectuals were likewise selected in South Korea, with 393 responses. Intellectuals' occupations in South Korea included 3.8% politicians, 36.1% professors, 18.3% researchers, 6.6% company executives, 11.5% public officials (including those working in public institutions), 7.6% journalists, 2.8% NGO staff, 6.9% professionals such as lawyers/accountants/doctors, and 6.4% other.

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