Many Chinese and Korean parents hope their children will become top achievers while their Japanese counterparts want their children to become adults who don't cause trouble, according to a survey released this week.

"One who takes good care of family" was the top pick in all cities where the poll by Benesse Corp was conducted Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei and Seoul except for Tokyo, where it ranked second.

"One who does not cause trouble to others," and "one who values friends," were among the characteristics most favored by Japanese parents, who were least interested in leadership, principles, social contribution and respect from others, according to the study, released on Tuesday.

The study also found that Japanese parents' academic goals for their children were lower than in other places only 2.2 percent of Japanese parents wanted their children to pursue education through graduate school, compared to more than 70 percent in Beijing, 61 percent in Taipei, 56 percent in Shanghai and 46 percent in Seoul.

Japanese parents were also least interested in sending their children to prestigious schools. Compared to more than 70 percent of parents in Shanghai and Beijing, 41 percent in Seoul and 34 percent in Taipei, only 25 percent of Japanese parents set their sights on a top school.

Japanese parents were also most relaxed about their children's lifestyles allowing their children the most sleep and TV viewing.

The study found that the majority of Japanese mothers were full-time housewives, compared to less than 10 percent in Beijing and Shanghai, and one-fifth in Taipei. A majority of mothers in Shanghai, Beijing and Taipei had full-time jobs. About half of mothers in Seoul worked full time.

The percentage of mothers in Japan who had a college education was the lowest less than 19 percent compared to more than one-third in the other four cities.

Benesse surveyed 1,007 parents in Tokyo, 941 in Seoul, 992 in Beijing, 935 in Shanghai and 2,259 in Taipei all with children aged 3 to 6 from March to June last year by sending out questionnaires to kindergartens. No margin of error was given.

(China Daily February 10, 2006)