South Korean and Chinese high school students who have been to Japan like Japan more than those who have never been, a survey showed Wednesday.

According to the October-December survey by the Japan Youth Research Institute, 49 percent of Chinese students and 40 percent of South Korean students who have visited Japan said they like Japan.

But pro-Japan rates stood at only 21 percent among Chinese students who have never visited Japan and 22 percent among such South Korean students, the poll found.

Overall, 25 percent of high school students in China like Japan and 24 percent in South Korea.

An institute official said the finding indicates that more Chinese and South Korean students would come to like Japan if they were given more opportunities to interact with Japanese and learn more about Japanese culture.

The survey also showed only 17 percent of Japanese students polled said they like South Korea and 10 percent of them like China, while 40 percent of them like the United States, Japan's closest ally.

According to the survey, 45 percent of U.S. students said they like Japan.

The poll found Japanese students as less interested in study and academic achievements when compared with South Korean and Chinese students.

Only 23 percent of Japanese students said they are very interested in these matters -- much lower than the 50 percent among Chinese students polled.

The survey indicated 62 percent of Japanese students are very interested in pop culture, including "manga" comics, magazines and music, and 50 percent of them in cell phones and e-mail via cell phones.

The survey covered about 7,300 high school students in Japan, China, South Korea and the United States.