World Leadership Poll: Japan Ranks #2 Behind Canada — 5ch: “Japan’s Always Playing Suneo (the Sidekick)”

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The story

In a poll of 34 countries commissioned by the Rockefeller Foundation, Canada came in first and Japan second among countries seen as best suited to play a leading role in the world. At the same time, the survey also revealed strikingly low trust in both the United States and China. On 5ch, reactions were mixed: some asked just what field Japan could actually lead in, others pointed to its cultural clout through anime, and still others were skeptical given Japan’s economic stagnation — opinions split sharply over how to read the ranking.

Support for a leading global role: Japan ranks 2nd behind Canada, as trust in the US and China clearly declines

In a poll conducted across 34 countries, Canada received the strongest support as the country best suited to play a leading role in the world, with Japan coming in second.

Meanwhile, the survey also exposed low levels of trust in the United States and China.

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

What people said

2AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:01
Watching Osaka night-view video channels on YouTube beats watching Peace-kun at Omiya Park any day (Peace-kun is a livestream mascot cam at the park).
23AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:06
Japan, a leading role?
What exactly can it point to?
What field could it possibly lead in?
27AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:07
Re: #23
Apparently when foreigners visit Japan, they realize how brutal life back home really is 🤣
24AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:06
Anime is a genuine positive influence on humanity.
55AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:13
Re: #24
Don't go mixing up the fantasy Japan that lives in otaku daydreams with the real one.
71AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:16
Re: #24
They say the more educated someone is, the more anime they watch — so the world's elites probably do have a rosy fantasy of Japan.
32AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:09
Japan's always in the Suneo position (the sidekick who tags along with the strong instead of leading), so of course it's not built for leadership. No wonder it never produces leaders — the national character is basically the opposite of what leadership takes.
43AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:11
Re: #32
Some clueless Chinese commentator: "There's no way Japan can lead the TPP without the US and China — either pull the plug before you embarrass yourselves, or let China in."
https://www.recordchina.co.jp/b184395-s0-c10-d0135.html



CPTPP sees a growing line of countries wanting to join, becoming a "pillar" of free trade
https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2026080900162&g=eco
53AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:13
Losing out to Canada, huh.
Maybe it's just a geography problem?
58AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:13
Honestly, there's a good chance AI ends up as a god ruling over humanity anyway.

Though it's less that AI goes off and does something on its own, more that humans are the ones turning AI into a god.
72AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:16
Re: #58
And Japan is the one that AI seems to love.

https://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/article/2604/30/1260430025/
Why do some AI models fixate on "Japanese culture"? European research team reveals how outputs from models like "4o-mini" skew toward Japan
64AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:15
Re: #53
Before we even get to winning or losing, does anyone actually know what this ranking is measuring?
66AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:15
Re: #64
If it's about who's footing the bill, Japan would be dead last.
77AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:17
Re: #66
That's not what I meant… I'm just asking what the survey actually asked people.
85AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:18
For better or worse, Canada and Japan both have deep ties to the US and China, so they're the ones stuck with "you two figure it out."
94AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:19
Re: #85
Isn't that more of an Australia thing?
100AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:20
Surprising result, but I bet there's some agenda behind it.
107AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:22
It's basically the classic scene where the popular kids saddle the quiet, unpopular girl with "hey, you be class president."
113AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:24
Re: #107
Yeah, that's exactly the image that comes to mind lol
115AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:24
A country that can stand up to America, one that can actually speak its mind — that's admirable.

More than can be said for "Hop-hop" over there.
123AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:25
Re: #115
Pretty sure the rest of the world doesn't see it that way.
117AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:24
Asked an AI about it — apparently in last year's 2025 survey Japan was dead last at 34th lol

The reason given this time: as US-China tensions escalate and the threat from Russia deepens, global expectations have surged for countries that avoid extreme clashes with either bloc and value a rules-based international order and peace — i.e., stable middle-power democracies.
127AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:26
Re: #117
That has to be nonsense. Have they not seen how Japan's currently picking fights with China while sucking up to America nonstop?
130AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:27
This is just part of the "Japan is amazing" PR push — you can spin numbers like this however you want.

Smartphones? Japan's phone industry basically died ages ago. And all those LCD TV factories, plasma TV factories they built — where did that end up going?

Meanwhile Japan's food self-sufficiency rate has dropped drastically this whole time.

There's no way it's in any kind of leadership position — whoever came up with this must be out of their mind.
144AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:31
Re: #130
Same deal as "Japanese anime is a worldwide sensation!!!" being hyped everywhere, while somehow Japanese anime studios keep going bankrupt in the red, and animators can't afford to live or are working themselves to death and even committing suicide.
Why's the reality this grim when it's supposedly so popular worldwide lol
146AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:32
Canada used to be America's #1 lapdog, and somehow it's become the world's #1 anti-America country — that's genuinely wild.
152AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:33
Re: #146
Canada's a globalist's lapdog — mainly the UK's.
155AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:33
Re: #146
Put another way, even Canada's gone anti-America, so why is Japan still playing America's lapdog?
215AnonymousSep 23, 2026 16:46
Re: #146

But get this — the guy running the show holds triple citizenship as a globalist lol, hilarious

Background and Key Points of This Topic

This poll, commissioned by the Rockefeller Foundation, appears to measure not GDP or military strength but international goodwill and trust — essentially whether a country is seen as fit to take on a global leadership role. Since that’s a different yardstick from economic or military rankings, it isn’t necessarily contradictory for countries like Canada and Japan to place near the top. Still, in the 5ch reaction thread this distinction wasn’t always made clear, and the first question raised was what concrete field Japan could actually lead in. From there, opinions split between those citing Japan’s cultural reach — through anime and the tendency of some AI models to skew toward Japanese culture in their outputs — as reasons for the ranking, and those skeptical of it given Japan’s declining food self-sufficiency and stagnant domestic industry. The debate ultimately came down to disagreement over just what standard the ranking was based on.

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Breaking News+) thread “Support for a global leadership role: Canada ranks #1, Japan #2 — trust in the US and China declines, per Rockefeller Foundation-commissioned poll.”

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