Japan remains the most trusted power among Southeast Asian countries, even as it seeks to amend its pacifist constitution and continues its military build-up.However, Tokyo would need to be transparent on its motives and assure others that its military-related actions would contribute to regional security, according to analysts.In the latest annual survey conducted by the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Japan retained its ranking as the most trusted power in the region, with 65.6 per cent of Southeast Asian respondents expressing confidence in it, down from 66.8 per cent last year.
SRCSouth China Morning Post
LANGEN
LEANCenter-Right
WORDS90
ENT5
THU · 2026-04-16 · 07:08 GMTBRIEF NSR-2026-0416-69911
NSR-2026-0416-69911News Report·EN·Diplomatic
Japan remains most trusted power in Southeast Asia despite military build-up: survey
A recent survey by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore indicates that Japan remains the most trusted power in Southeast Asia. The annual survey revealed that 65.6% of Southeast Asian respondents expressed confidence in Japan, despite its ongoing military build-up and efforts to amend its pacifist constitution.
Maria SiowSouth China Morning PostFiled 2026-04-16 · 07:08 GMTLean · Center-RightRead · 1 min
South China Morning PostFIG 01
Reading time
1min
Word count
90words
Sources cited
1cited
Entities identified
5entities
Quality score
100%
§ 01
Briefing Summary
AI-generatedNEWSAR · AI
A recent survey by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore indicates that Japan remains the most trusted power in Southeast Asia. The annual survey revealed that 65.6% of Southeast Asian respondents expressed confidence in Japan, despite its ongoing military build-up and efforts to amend its pacifist constitution. While trust levels remain high, analysts suggest Japan needs to be transparent about its military motives. This transparency is needed to assure Southeast Asian nations that Japan's military actions will contribute to regional security. The survey highlights the continued importance of Japan's role in the region.
Confidence 0.85Sources 1Claims 4Entities 5
§ 02
Article analysis
Model · rule-basedFraming
Diplomatic
National Security
Tone
Measured
AI-assessed
CalmNeutralAlarmist
Factuality
0.70 / 1.00
Factual
LowHigh
Sources cited
1
Limited
FewMany
§ 03
Key claims
4 extracted01
Japan seeks to amend its pacifist constitution and continues its military build-up.
factualArticle
Confidence
1.00
02
65.6 per cent of Southeast Asian respondents expressed confidence in Japan.
statisticISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute
Confidence
0.90
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Japan remains the most trusted power among Southeast Asian countries.
factualArticle
Confidence
0.90
04
Tokyo would need to be transparent on its motives.
quoteanalysts
Confidence
0.80
§ 04
Full report
1 min read · 90 words§ 05
Entities
5 identified§ 06
Keywords & salience
5 termsjapan's military build-up
0.80
regional security
0.70
trust in japan
0.60
southeast asia
0.50
pacificism
0.40
§ 07
Topic connections
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