Some 30 percent of Japanese surveyed feel the economy is deteriorating, little changed from the previous year, an annual opinion poll by the Cabinet Office showed Saturday.
Asked in a multiple-choice question what they see is heading in a "bad direction," 29.5 percent of respondents cited the economy, down slightly from 30.3 percent a year earlier, indicating deep-rooted public concern about Japan's economic outlook. The largest group — 30.8 percent — pointed to state finances.
Asked what is heading in a "good direction," only 7.3 percent cited the economy, down from 10.4 percent in 2015.
Diplomacy was viewed in a negative light by 18.6 percent, down from 25.2 percent a year earlier. It was viewed as heading in a good direction by 13.4 percent, the highest since the government began asking this question in 1998.
A Cabinet Office official said the latest result reflects Japan's "improving ties with neighboring countries and the holding of summit meetings" with their leaders.
The official referred to an agreement reached between Tokyo and Seoul late last year to resolve the issue of so-called Korean "comfort women" who were forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels.
The percentage of respondents who were "satisfied" with the current state of society as a whole reached a record-high 62 percent, up 2.7 percentage points from the previous survey.
Some 33.9 percent said they think "individual interests should be put before those of the general public," up 2.5 points from a year earlier and the highest level since 1991 when the question was introduced.
The survey, conducted between Jan. 28 and Feb. 24, covered 10,000 adults across the country, with 5,877 responding.