Asia & the Pacific

Overview As President Obama prepares to announce his policy for drawing down U.S. forces in Afghanistan, the percentage of Americans who favor removing the troops as soon as possible has reached an all-time high in Pew Research Center surveys. For the first time, a majority (56%) says that U.S. troops should be brought home as […]

In the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the Japanese public is resilient. Indeed, a majority believe that as a result of the disaster, Japan will become a stronger nation. And while personal pessimism about the future has crept up slightly, on balance the public’s overall sense of personal well being appears little changed by the calamitous events of 2011.

Judging the Chinese appetite for democracy is not easy, but polling suggests China may not be ripe for the kind of uprisings seen throughout the Middle East.

A new survey finds that Americans under age 40 are as likely to donate to Japan disaster relief through electronic means as traditional means like the phone or postal mail

India’s 2011 national census, which goes into the field this week, includes not just the usual two gender categories, but for the first time a third one, called “other.”

When Chinese President Hu Jintao visits Washington next week, he will be greeted by an American public that looks to Asia- -- rather than to Europe -- as the region of the world most important to U.S. interests.

As President Obama prepares to host Chinese President Hu Jintao next week, Americans increasingly see Asia as the region of the world that is most important to the United States. While Americans see China as a rising global power, relatively few characterize the U.S.-China relationship as adversarial; China is seen primarily as an economic threat, rather than a military one.