Japanese Loneliest Advanced-Nation Children

The UNICEF Innocenti Research Center released its Report Card No. 7 in February 2007, which revealed that, among advanced nations, Japan had the highest percent of children who feel lonely or awkward and out of place.

The survey was conducted in 21 OECD countries to measure the well-being of children. With regard to children's subjective perception of their own well-being, the percentage of 15-year-olds who said they feel lonely was highest in Japan, at 29.8 percent, followed by Iceland, 10.3 percent and Poland, 8.4 percent. As for the percentage of children who feel awkward and out of place, Japan also ranked first among 24 nations, at 18.1 percent.

As for material well-being, Japan ranked 18th among 24 countries. One of the questions asked of 15-year-olds was whether they own eight selected educational items, such as a desk for studying at home, a personal computer, etc., as a way of gauging their educational environment. The percentage of those who own fewer than six of these items was 53.3 percent in Japan, the second highest after Greece, while the percentage of Japanese 15 year olds owning fewer than 10 books at home was the 7th highest among 24 nations.

http://www.unicef.org/media/media_38299.html
http://www.unicef.or.jp/library/pres_bn2007/pdf/rc7_aw3.pdf

Posted: 2007/07/15 11:21:06 AM
Japanese version