The figure rose 4.1 percentage points from the previous year, thanks to improvements in Japan-South Korean ties, the Japan Press Research Institute said.
Rapidly warming Japan-South Korean relations felt a distinct chill at the end of 2023 as an emotive historical dispute between the two U.S. East Asian allies - compensation for World War II victims - reared up yet again.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterpart, Shin Won-sik, have approved a revised version of the joint deterrence strategy against North Korea, its first update in ten years, the US Department of Defense said on Monday.