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Part 2 Outline of Survey Results I Family

2. Parent-child relationship

(1) Leadership in family problem-solving
Q5 Who in your family normally takes (or took) the lead in important family matters?
  1. Father
  2. Mother
  3. Other(s)
  4. Don't know/no answer

In Japan, fathers take the lead in important family matters (65.5%) more than mothers (22.9%). This was equally true for male and female respondents.
The countries with more fathers taking the lead in family matters were Korea, Japan and Germany, whereas the country with more mothers taking the lead was Sweden. The figures for both fathers and mothers were very close in the U.S. (Figure 1-1)

Figure 1-1 Leadership in Family Problem-Solving (Country Comparison)
Figure 1-1 Leadership in Family Problem-Solving (Country Comparison)

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(2) Image of father
(If father is alive - '1' or '2' in Q2)
Q6 Which of the following statements express what your father means to you? Please
select all applicable answers. (multiple answers)
  1. He is an example of how I should live my life
  2. He is a respectable person
  3. I consider him my friend
  4. He is a strict person
  5. He is a kind person
  6. He is an annoying person
  7. He understands me very well
  8. He does not have a close relationship with me
  9. None of the above
  10. Don't know/no answer
Note: This is a new question

When being asked about their father's image, 39.2% of the Japanese respondents said that they respected their father, followed in descending order by 'kind' (32.3%), 'strict' (28.8%), 'understands me well' (25.8%), and 'example' (15.4%).
Looking at the other countries surveyed, 'respectable,' which was the top choice of the Japanese respondents, was also ranked first in all other countries except for Korea. In Korea, 'strict' came at the top of the list. 'Kind,' 'understands me well,' and 'example' were all ranked high in every country. 'Strict' was ranked high in both Korean and Japan, whereas 'friend' was listed high in the U.S, Germany and Sweden. (Table 1-4)

Table 1-4 Image of Father (Country Comparison)
Table 1-4 Image of Father (Country Comparison)

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(3) Image of mother
(If mother is alive - '1' or '3' in Q2)
Q7 Which of the following statements express what your mother means to you? Please
select all applicable answers. (multiple answers)
  1. She is an example of how I should live my life
  2. She is a respectable person
  3. I consider her my friend
  4. She is a strict person
  5. She is a kind person
  6. She is an annoying person
  7. She understands me very well
  8. She does not have a close relationship with me
  9. None of the above
  10. Don't know/no answer
Note: This is a new question

When being asked about their mother's image, 42.7% of the Japanese respondents said that their mother was 'kind,' followed in descending order by 'understands me well' (39.5%), 'respectable' (28.0%), 'like a friend' (26.8%), and 'strict' (16.2%).
When compared with other countries, 'kind,' which was the top choice of the Japanese respondents, was also ranked first in Korea and Germany. In the U.S. and Sweden, however, 'respectable' came at the top of the list. 'Understands me well' and 'like a friend' were all ranked high in every country. 'Example' was ranked high in all countries expect for Japan, whereas in Japan, 'strict' was listed high. (Table 1-5)

Table 1-5 Image of mother (Country Comparison)
Table 1-5 Image of mother (Country Comparison)

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(4) Parent-child relationship
Q8 How do you feel about the following statements?
(Note to the interviewer: ask by reading (a) and (b) out loud)
  1. One should follow one's parents' opinions as much as possible
  2. Children should become economically independent from their parents as early as possible
 
  1. I agree
  2. I tend to agree
  3. I tend to disagree
  4. I disagree
  5. Don't know/no answer

These questions were to ask respondents for their opinions regarding a parent-child relationship.
In Japan, a total of 67.6% of the respondents either agreed (13.1%) or tended to agree (54.4%) with the idea that 'One should follow one's parents' opinions as much as possible,' which surpassed the percentage (31.0% in total) of the respondents who either tended to disagree (20.2%) or disagreed (10.8%).
In comparison with other countries, the highest proportion of respondents, cited by 90.4%, who agreed with the view that 'One should follow one's parents' opinions as much as possible,' was in Korea, followed in descending order by Japan, the U.S. and Germany. In these countries, more respondents agreed than disagreed with the statement. In Sweden, however, more respondents disagreed than agreed. (Figure 1-2a)

Figure 1-2a Parent-Child Relationship (Country Comparison)
a One should follow one's parents' opinions as much as possible
Figure 1-2a Parent-Child Relationship (Country Comparison) a One should follow one's parents' opinions as much as possible

Next, those who either agreed (35.5%) or tended to agree (47.3%) with the idea that 'One should become economically independent' accounted for 82.8% of all the Japanese respondents, surpassing the total of 14.3% of the respondents who tended to disagree (10.4%) or disagreed (3.9%).
The majority of the respondents in all countries agreed with the view that 'One should become economically independent.' In Korea, Japan and Germany, in particular, more than 80% of the respondents agreed. In Sweden, however, respondents were evenly split between those who disagreed (47.2%) and those who agreed (51.0%). (Figure 1-2b)

Figure 1-2b Parent-Child Relationship (Country Comparison)
b. Children should become economically independent
Figure 1-2b Parent-Child Relationship (Country Comparison) b. Children should become economically independent

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(5) Support of aged parents
Q9 How would you feel about the prospect of taking care of your parents in their old age?
Please choose the one answer that comes closest to your opinion.
  1. I would take care of my parents in their old age, regardless of the circumstances
  2. I would take care of my parents in their old age, if I am financially able to
  3. I would leave them to their own resources and/or social security
  4. Don't know/no answer

In Japan, 64.8% of the respondents said that they would take care of their parents in their old age if they were financially able to. It was then followed by 25.2% of respondents saying that they would 'take care of their parents in their old age regardless of the circumstances,' and 4.4% saying they would 'leave them to their own resources and/or social security.'
In comparison with other countries, the percentage of those who indicated that they would take care of their parents in their old age if they were financially able to was 70.5% in Sweden, 64.8% in Japan, 56.5% in Korea, and 53.4% in Germany. The highest proportion of respondents who said that they would take care of the parents regardless of their circumstances was in the U.S., at 73.1%. (Figure 1-3)

Figure 1-3 Support of Aged Parents
Figure 1-3 Support of Aged Parents

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