TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) - Nine in 10 Japanese people are concerned that China may invade Taiwan, following Russia's attack on Ukraine, according to a domestic newspaper poll.

More than half of the 1,040 respondents polled on Saturday (March 19) by the Mainichi and Saitama University's Social Survey Research Centre said they have "strong concerns" about the prospect of Chinese action against Taiwan, according to the newspaper's Sunday edition.

About 33 per cent said they have some degree of anxiety, according to the report.

Locked in a territorial dispute with China over a chain of islands in the East China Sea, Japan generally sees neighbouring Taiwan's security as closely linked to its own.

Of those surveyed, 87 per cent said they are worried about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while 30 per cent believed the Japanese government should step up sanctions against Moscow, the newspaper said.

Japan's decision to send Ukraine bullet-proof vests was "reasonable", 61 per cent of respondents said.

About 11 per cent said Japan does not need to help Ukraine militarily, but twice as many said their country should consider more actively providing the east European nation with military support.