South Korea's love for Japan is stronger than ever, but the feeling from this side appears to be waning, a recent poll showed.

Results of the opinion survey conducted annually by private organizations in Japan and South Korea since 2013 revealed the divergent perceptions, with major factors including the wartime laborers issue and, on the positive side, a surge in travel between the countries.

Incorporated nonprofit organization Genron NPO and South Korean think tank East Asia Institute announced the results of the survey at a news conference in Tokyo on June 12.

The poll was conducted from mid-May to early June, gathering data from about 1,000 respondents in each country.

In the poll, 20 percent of Japanese respondents said their impression of South Korea is "good," a record low in contrast to the 2013 record high of 31.1 percent.

At the same time, 31.7 percent of South Korean respondents said their impression of Japan is "good," a record high. The figure was 12.2 percent in 2013, a record low.

Asked what the reasons were behind any negative impressions of the other country, 52.1 percent of Japanese respondents cited South Korea's continued criticism of Japan over historical issues.

Meanwhile, 76.1 percent of South Koreans who took the poll said that Japan has not accurately reflected on its history of invasion.

Regarding the South Korean Supreme Court ruling last year ordering Japanese firms to compensate laborers who said they were mobilized to work for the companies during World War II, 75.5 percent of South Koreans said they support it, while 58.7 percent of Japanese polled did not.

More than 10 million Japanese and South Koreans traveled between the two countries last year.

Yasushi Kudo, the president of Genron NPO, said, “South Koreans have been able to prevent a deterioration of positive sentiment toward Japan through deepening interactions."