Japanese Feel Less Confident of New Century : Polls: Only 44% now see their country becoming the world’s top economic power. But more Americans expect the U.S. to be No. 1.

With the economy in a slump, fewer Japanese believe that their country will enter the next century as the world’s top economic power, according to a poll published Tuesday.

On the other hand, more Americans are confident that the United States will overcome its problems to emerge as the world’s No. 1 economic power in the 21st Century.

A poll by the Tokyo Broadcasting System showed 44% of more than 1,350 Japanese respondents believed that their country would take first place as the world’s leading economic power, down from 53% in a similar survey a year ago.

Forty-five percent of 1,330 Americans polled this month by CBS News and the New York Times said the United States would dominate the world economy, up sharply from last year’s 30%.

Japan is in the midst of one of its worst economic slumps in decades, with companies slashing capital investment, freezing salaries and cutting down on personnel.

In the poll, 71% of the Japanese said their country’s economy was in a fairly bad or very bad state, while 28% believed that it was very good or fairly good. In the United States, 67% believed that the U.S. economy was in bad shape, while 32% said it was very good or fairly good.

Expectations are growing that President-elect Bill Clinton will help revive the U.S. economy. One out of two Americans said they expect the economy to improve after the Clinton Administration takes over in January.

Neither Japanese nor Americans expected much change in relations between the two countries in the next few years under a Clinton Administration, despite predictions that it would take a tougher line against Japan on trade issues.

Sixty-nine percent of the Japanese said relations would remain unchanged, with almost 50% of the Americans in agreement.