Finally, Chinese and Japanese agree on something!

This morning's Nihon Keizai Shimbun has a wonderful table in its upper lefthand corner. The data upon which the table is based--a tri-national Internet survey of persons 25-44 years of age--is dubious in its statistical validity.

The results are kind of fun, anyway:

Courtesy: Nihon Keizai Shimbun

So Japanese think Tokyo will be the core city of Asia in 30 years time. Chinese think it will be Shanghai. South Koreans think it will be Seoul.

Chinese think Tokyo will be no better than #3 in 2036; South Koreans think it will be #4.

No surprises there, I guess.

Somewhat interesting is the tie between Beijing and Tokyo for the #3 ranking among Chinese correspondents.

But look! At the bottom! Chinese and Japanese share a disdain for the shining city on the Han River, ranking it #5 alongside Singapore and New Delhi.

You see, the views of the two peoples are not so far apart after all.