TOKYO - Japan ranked second among 16 countries and the European Union as having a positive influence in the world, according to a recent poll jointly conducted by the BBC World Service and The Yomiuri Shimbun.
The poll showed that 53 percent of respondents viewed the influence of Japan as positive, much higher than the 21 percent who viewed it as negative.
Japan was ranked fourth at 56 percent in a similar survey about a year ago, following Germany, Britain and Canada.
The poll asked respondents in 33 countries whether they considered the influence of each of the 16 countries and the EU to be mostly positive or mostly negative.
Of the nations featured in the poll, Germany was the most favorably viewed, with Japan and the European Union ranked second.
Meanwhile, the country that was most negatively viewed in the latest poll was Iran at 56 percent, followed by Pakistan at 51 percent and Israel at 50 percent.
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As for North Korea, 48 percent of the respondents said the country had a negative influence, far more than the 17 percent who said it had a positive influence.
More people said the Unites States had a positive influence in the world than those who viewed the country negatively, with 46 percent having positive views and 34 percent having negative views.
In the last survey, which was conducted during the transition phase between the administrations of former President George W. Bush and President Obama, 40 percent said the U.S. had a positive influence on the world.
Views on China were divided - 41 percent said it has mostly a positive influence while 38 percent said it has mostly a negative influence.
The poll was conducted on 29,977 respondents from November to February.
