Time-Series Survey(1)
April 2009
NHK has been conducting the Survey on Japanese Value Orientations every 5 years since 1973 to study changes of people’s views and behaviors regarding society, politics, economy and daily lives. The eighth survey was carried out in June 2008, which allowed analyses of how Japanese value orientations had changed or unchanged over a 35-year period. The first installment of the report features family and male-female relations.
Questions on views on marriage were first introduced in 1993, when more than half of the respondents agreed that “people don’t necessarily need to get married,” and the ratio had increased by 1998 and finally outweighed that of those who believe “getting married is a normal course of life” in 2008. As to young couples’ premarital relationships, the percentage of respondents who think “sex before marriage is acceptable as long as they love each other deeply” has greatly increased to become the majority, although there was little change in the number in the recent decade.
Compared to five years ago, people’s views on women continuing working after marriage have not changed much, but over the past 35 years the number of people who think “women had better dedicate themselves to protecting the home” has significantly decreased. Instead, those who think “women had better continue working as much as possible after marriage and childbirth” have increased. Compared to 2003, the ratio of people who think the ideal family is “a family with a father who always cares for the home and a mother who is dedicated to making a loving home” has increased to almost 50%, which significantly outweighs the ratios for other family models.
People who want their daughters receive “college education” have also increased again over the past five years to become the majority, but the ratio was much lower than that of those who want their sons receive “college education” (68%).