Socio-economic factors affecting trust in the military: Comparatives on perspectives on China, Japan, and South Korea

The pro-military tendency of people positively influences support for military policy, budget securing, and promotion of organizational commitment and cooperation. Most importantly, trust in the military plays a positive role in building a strong defense force by enhancing the morale and loyalty of military members. Therefore, the present study aims to compare and analyze the effects of diverse socio-economic factors on the level of trust in the military in South Korea, China, and Japan, which are the leading countries of Northeast Asia. At first, the study results reveal that the Chinese have a stronger tendency toward pro-military than South Koreans and Japanese, and the role of the military in China is relatively high. Second, in 2005, South Koreans with low income and financial assets and South Koreans with jobs in the government or public sector had high trust in the military. However, in 2010, the impact of these factors was statistically insignificant. Finally, South Koreans with higher income level have more inclination to trust the military than the government. Conversely, South Koreans in high age groups trust the government more than the military. In contrast, Japanese people in high age groups trust the military more than the government. To conclude that the findings of this study provide a policy implication that suggests factors to enhance the pro-military tendency of people concerning China, which is a socialist state system, and Japan, which has imperialism and experience in militarism.