Additionally, this section explains the implications of the results in the public policy
process, and the possible limitation of this research.
Among the four tests, hypothesis 1 is relatively clearly proven. The poll data
about the Japanese sentiments about the United States deteriorates as the ratio of
negative stories of U.S. policies the Asahi carries becomes higher (Figure 2). The
correlation coefficient between them is -.77 and is statistically significant. Figure 2
indicates that there is a clear relationship between the amount of negative coverage of
the Iraq War and the decline in the positive image of the United States among Japanese.
The more the Iraq War receives negative treatment by the Asahi, the less the Japanese
feel favorable to the United States. Four periods need to be paid attention to. First,
toward the time the Iraq War started (the end of March 2003), the negative news of the
U.S. policies surges in number. Japanese sentiments toward the United States
corresponded to the change. Second, the media became less negative during the short
period around the time when the actual battle ended in the early part of May 2003.
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Convention