Police officer and cake shop and bakery worker remain top of the list of dream jobs for children in Japan, a private company survey has found.
The survey, conducted online by major chemical maker Kuraray, asked children enrolling in elementary school in fiscal 2026 what they want to be when they grow up, with 4,000 kids ¡ª2,000 boys and as many girls ¡ª giving answers.
The survey results were announced ahead of Children¡¯s Day on Tuesday.
Cake shop and bakery worker topped the rankings for girls for the 28th straight year since the company began the survey in 1999, chosen by 21.2% of the respondents this time.
Police officer was the top dream job among boys for the second year in a row, picked by 15.6% in the latest survey.
Television personality, singer or model ranked second among girls, at 10.6%. Ice cream shop worker was selected by 5.5% to rank third, its highest place ever. Firefighter and rescue team member came 12th, the highest for those careers, drawing support from 2.5%, up from 1.3% in the previous survey.
Coming second on the list for boys was athlete, at 12.3%, followed by firefighter and rescue team member, at 10.8%.
Of the boys who selected athlete, 52.2%, the largest proportion, said they want to be soccer players, followed by 21.2% who cited baseball player as their dream job, and 3.3% who would like to be basketball players.
Compared with 20 years ago, the proportion for baseball player dropped about 10 percentage points, while the popularity of track-and-field athlete and martial artist grew. Some boys said they want to be esports players.
In the survey, parents of the new elementary school first graders were asked what they want their children to be in the future.
Civil servant came first among the parents of both boys and girls for the second consecutive year. A Kuraray official in charge of the survey said the result reflects the parents¡¯ wishes for their children to get ¡°a stable job.¡±
Corporate worker and athlete ranked second and third, respectively, among the boys¡¯ parents. The second most common choice among the girls¡¯ parents was nurse, followed by corporate worker.
Kuraray makes Clarino brand artificial leather, used in products including randoseru?backpacks for elementary school children.
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