Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (front L) and first lady Akie Abe disembark from a plane at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, October 8, 2006.

While nearly 80 percent of Japanese say they are patriotic, most of that majority say their country should own up to, and reflect on, its record of aggression in Asia, according to a poll published in a newspaper yesterday.

The Asahi Shimbun said 78 percent of 1,805 respondents to the December 2-3 poll felt at least some degree of patriotism. The figure was slightly lower than the 80 percent recorded in a similar poll conducted in April 2005, the daily said.

At the same time, 88 percent of those claiming to be patriots said Japanese must consider their country's militaristic past and brutal colonial rule in Asia, the Asahi said.

The results reflect public concerns about Japanese friction with China and South Korea over their shared history, the Asahi said.

Japan's relations with its Asian neighbors have often been poor because of Tokyo's lack of contrition for its aggression and harsh colonial rule in the first half of the 20th century.

Repeated visits by former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi to the Yasukuni Shrine that honors war criminals from World War II have further strained those ties.

The Shinzo Abe government has pursued a policy agenda aimed at bolstering Japan's international military role.

However, Japan's relations with China and South Korea have improved after Abe took power in September last year. His first overseas trips as prime minister were to Beijing and Seoul and there have been several initiatives in recent months to thaw ties.

昨天公布的一項調查顯示，雖然80%的日本人說自己是愛國人士，但其中的大多數人認為日本應該面對歷史，應對自己曾對亞洲一些國家的侵略行為進行反省。

據《朝日新聞》報道，這項在12月2日和3日進行的調查共有1805人參加，調查顯示，其中有78%的人認為自己至少有點愛國心，略低于2005年4月一項類似調查的80%。

此外，在自認為有愛國心的受訪者中，88%的人認為日本必須面對自己的軍國主義歷史以及曾在亞洲一些國家進行的殘酷殖民統治。

《朝日新聞》稱，調查結果表明，日本民眾對政府與中韓兩國在歷史問題上的分歧較為關注。

20世紀上半葉，由于日本政府對其過去的侵略行為和殘酷的殖民統治毫無悔意，所以日本與亞洲鄰國的關系一直很差。

再加上日本前首相小泉純一郎多次參拜供奉二戰戰犯的靖國神社，使得日本與鄰國的關系更為緊張。

安倍晉三首相上任后，政府出臺了一系列旨在加強日本國際軍事角色的政策。

然而，自安倍首相去年九月上任后，日本與中韓兩國的關系有所改善。安倍首相上任后出訪的第一站就是北京和首爾。此外，近幾個月還出臺了幾項旨在“解凍”關系的新計劃。