The Japanese children of today

In our previous issue, we reported on how the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare positioned measures and programs to halt the shrinking number of children and secure the next generation of people to play a major role in our society and economy as one of its priority tasks. The results of two interesting surveys were announced recently that revealed the status of the Japanese children of today.

One is an international comparison of parent-child relationships conducted by Professor Nakazato of Toyo University, and the other is a survey conducted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, which studied children's physical and motor skills.

For the survey on parent-child relationships, responses were gathered in Japan from about 1,400 junior and senior high school students in Tokyo and the regions as well as from about 2,000 parents; about 500 children and parents each in the United States; and from about 500 children and about 900 parents in Turkey.

When asked if they felt that children were their most valued treasure, 52% of Japanese fathers, 91% of U.S. fathers and 79% of Turkish fathers strongly agreed. Even if those who mildly agreed were included, only 79% of Japanese parents regarded their children as their "treasure." Similarly, 58% of Japanese mothers, 93% of U.S. mothers, and 79% of mothers in Turkey strongly felt that their children were their "treasure".

As to the question, "Do you love your children?" 68% of Japanese fathers and 71% of Japanese mothers said yes. These percentages were substantially lower than the 95% and 96% from the fathers and mothers in the U.S. and 93% of both parents in Turkey who answered yes.

When asked if they respected their fathers, 94% of children in Turkey and 83% of children in the U.S. either said "very much" or "quite a bit," while this figure was only 37% for children in Japan. Similarly, while 94% and 91% of the children in Turkey and the U.S., respectively, said that they respected their mothers, only 42% of the children in Japan did.

Similar trends were seen in the respondents' answers to the questions, "Do your parents place their hopes in you?" and "Do your parents consult with you or ask for your opinion at every opportunity?"

These results show that the nature of the parent-child relationship has changed substantially in Japan.

Meanwhile, a survey to study children's physical and motor skills has been conducted every year since 1964. The recent findings show that the basic motor skills of running, jumping and throwing by youths aged 6 to 19 have taken a downward turn since peaking around 1980, and that the continuous downslope that began from around 1985 persisted in the recent survey. The findings also revealed that children's physical strength and the amount of exercise they take is much lower than that when their parents were themselves children, a fact that has been pointed out for some time.

The Central Council for Education submitted a report in September, indicating that children's declining physical strength and fitness was caused by adults' tendency to place excessive importance on learning and study, and by the children's excessive use of information equipment for leisure purposes.

Needless to say, the government is called on to seriously consider the changing nature of parent-child relationships and children's declining physical strength, and to demonstrate strong leadership as soon as possible in building a healthier and more robust society. One thing is certain at this point: these children will enter the labor market in the very near future.