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.

昨天公布的一项调查显示，虽然80%的日本人说自己是爱国人士，但其中的大多数人认为日本应该面对历史，应对自己曾对亚洲一些国家的侵略行为进行反省。

据《朝日新闻》报道，这项在12月2日和3日进行的调查共有1805人参加，调查显示，其中有78%的人认为自己至少有点爱国心，略低于2005年4月一项类似调查的80%。

此外，在自认为有爱国心的受访者中，88%的人认为日本必须面对自己的军国主义历史以及曾在亚洲一些国家进行的残酷殖民统治。

《朝日新闻》称，调查结果表明，日本民众对政府与中韩两国在历史问题上的分歧较为关注。

20世纪上半叶，由于日本政府对其过去的侵略行为和残酷的殖民统治毫无悔意，所以日本与亚洲邻国的关系一直很差。

再加上日本前首相小泉纯一郎多次参拜供奉二战战犯的靖国神社，使得日本与邻国的关系更为紧张。

安倍晋三首相上任后，政府出台了一系列旨在加强日本国际军事角色的政策。

然而，自安倍首相去年九月上任后，日本与中韩两国的关系有所改善。安倍首相上任后出访的第一站就是北京和首尔。此外，近几个月还出台了几项旨在“解冻”关系的新计划。