By Tim Kelly
TOKYO, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The Japanese public now sees China's growing military power as the country's leading security concern, overtaking the threat posed by North Korean nuclear missiles, a government survey released on Friday showed.
In the survey 68% of 1,534 respondents pointed to advances in Chinese military technology and its activities close to Japan and in the South China Sea as their top security worry, up from 61% when the poll was last conducted three years ago.
The five-week survey began on November 6, a day before Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sparked the worst diplomatic dispute with Beijing in more than a decade by saying that Tokyo could deploy its forces if a Chinese attack on democratically governed Taiwan was deemed an existential threat to Japan.
China has demanded she retract her remarks, warned its citizens against travelling to Japan and threatened to restrict exports of rare earths, a key component in industrial supply chains. Beijing has also conducted military drills near Japan and, last week, held war games around Taiwan involving missiles, warships and aircraft.
The survey also showed support for Japan's military at an all-time high, with 94% of respondents saying they had a favourable opinion of the Self-Defense Forces.
The poll comes as Takaichi's government prepares to formulate its next defence plan, which is expected to further increase funds for defence.
Under its U.S.-drafted post-war constitution, Japan renounced the right to wage war, but it remains one of the world's biggest military spenders. It is doubling defence outlays to 2% of GDP to deter China from using force to pursue its territorial ambitions in East Asia.
Beijing has accused Japan of stoking regional tensions with its military plans and has warned Tokyo of a "crushing" defeat if it were to intervene over Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory.
(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
