Police Officer, Cake Shop Worker Top on Dream Job Lists in Japan

Tokyo, May 5 (Jiji Press)–Police officer, and cake shop and bakery worker remained top on the lists of dream jobs among children in Japan, a private company survey has found. The survey, conducted online by major chemical maker Kuraray Co., asked children enrolling in elementary school in fiscal 2026 what they want to be when they grow up, with 4,000 kids–2,000 boys and as many girls–giving answers. The survey results were announced ahead of this year’s Children’s Day in the country 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 pct of the respondents this time. Police officer was the top dream job among boys for two years in a row, picked by 15.6 pct in the latest survey. Television personality, singer and model ranked second among girls, at 10.6 pct. Ice cream shop worker was selected by 5.5 pct to rank third, its highest place ever. Firefighter and rescue team member came 12th, the highest for the category, drawing support from 2.5 pct, up from 1.3 pct in the previous survey. Coming second on the list for boys was athlete, at 12.3 pct, followed by firefighter and rescue team member, at 10.8 pct. Of the boys who selected athlete, 52.2 pct, the largest proportion, said they want to be soccer players, followed by 21.2 pct, who cited baseball player as their dream job, and 3.3 pct, who 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 both among the parents of the boys and the 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. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]