As Americans eye the Asia-Pacific region, they see a mix of friends and some foes, according to a new Pew Research Center survey conducted in February. Asked to rate their feelings toward four countries in the region on a “feeling thermometer,” where a 0 indicates the coldest and most negative rating possible, 50 indicates a neutral rating, and 100 indicates the warmest and most positive rating possible, Americans generally have warm feelings toward Japan. They give the country an average rating of 59 – largely unchanged since 2018, when the country had an average rating of 61. India receives a more neutral rating of 48 – also largely unchanged from its average rating of 51 in 2018.
Exploring the ratings in more detail, it appears that Biden’s prioritizing of relations with Japan – one of the United States’ foremost allies in the region – will likely sit well with Americans. About half (52%) express warm feelings toward the country (rating it above 50 on the 0-100 scale), with a third of Americans even indicating very warm views (between 75 and 100).
In the case of India, a plurality of Americans (41%) express neutral views – exactly 50 on the feeling thermometer. Equal shares say they have either cold (29%) or warm (29%) views of the country. Both China and North Korea not only receive majority cold ratings from the public – 67% and 77%, respectively – but in both cases, the bulk of the cold ratings are very cold.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
