Today's Japanese teenagers are pessimistic and introverted

The Yomiuri Shimbun conducted a nationwide survey on Japanese youths to primarily investigate the views of today's youngsters on society and life, as well as how they believe they should lead their lives. The survey targeted 5,000 individuals aged between 12 and 19. Effective responses were sent in by 2,942 individuals (response rate: 59%).

The survey revealed many interesting findings. In looking at their response rates, we found that, when asked how they felt about the future of Japan, 24% of the respondents said that it was bright and 75% said that it was bleak; when asked if they were proud to be Japanese, a total of only 65% said "Yes" and "Yes, to some degree," while 33% were not; when asked what they would do if Japan was invaded by another country, 13% said that they would join the armed resistance, 29% said that they would resist using means other than weapons, 44% said that they would flee to a safe place, and 12% said that they would surrender.

To the question, "Do you think that today's Japanese society allows everybody to succeed if he or she makes the effort?", 75% said no and 24% said yes. When asked what sort of life they wanted to lead, 69% said that they would do work that they liked; 62% said that they would like to build a happy family; and 54% said that they would enjoy doing hobbies and other things they liked to do (multiple answers were accepted).

This survey revealed a generation of youngsters who were pessimistic and introverted, perhaps reflecting adult society after the collapse of the bubble economy in Japan.

With the number of children continuing to fall, adults have a major responsibility to build a society which does not undermine children's natural optimism.

The survey revealed the following to be the work or profession that the children wanted to do or become in the future.

Boys: (1) Professional athletes, (2) teachers, (3) automotive-related work including car mechanics, (4) scholars, scientists, and researchers, (5) engineers and machinery-related personnel, (6) government workers, (7) doctors, (8) singers and musicians, (9) programmers, (10) policemen and detectives, and (10) games designers.

Girls: (1) Nursery school/kindergarten teachers, (2) beauticians and makeup artists, (3) nurses, (4) teachers, (5) welfare personnel and nursing care specialists, (6) cartoonists and animation-related work, (7) pet- and animal-related work, (8) clothing and apparel-related work, (9)media-related work, and (10) singers and musicians.