Medical Institutions, SDF Most Trusted by Public: Survey

Tokyo, Dec. 5 (Jiji Press)–Medical institutions and the Self-Defense Forces are the most trusted organizations or groups of people in Japan, a survey by a Jiji Press affiliate showed Friday. According to Central Research Services Inc., medical institutions were the most trusted among 10 organizations or groups of people in the poll for the third consecutive survey, after taking top spot in 2021 and 2023. Meanwhile, members of the Diet, or Japan’s parliament, came last in public trust. In the poll, respondents were asked to indicate their trust in the 10 groups on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being most trustworthy. Medical institutions scored an average of 3.6, down 0.2 point from the previous survey. The SDF also scored 3.6, unchanged from the 2023 survey, when it ranked second. Diet members scored an average of 2.4, while bureaucrats received the second worst score, at 2.5. In a question about which organization or group respondents hoped would make efforts to gain public trust, Diet members were the most common response, at 68.9 pct. When asked to give two organizations or groups that respondents believed were closed and not transparent, Diet members were again most frequently cited, at 55.1 pct. Meanwhile, 30.1 pct said they can trust public opinion surveys while 34.0 pct said they could not. When asked why people cannot trust public opinion surveys, with multiple responses allowed, 47.5 pct said they do not know how such polls are conducted. Television was the most commonly given source of political news, at 82.4 pct, with newspapers given by 43.5 pct. The interview survey, taken between Oct. 3 and 13, covered 4,000 people aged 20 or older selected randomly from across the country. Of them, 1,138 gave valid responses. The poll began in 2000 and was conducted for the 13th time. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]