What do you want to be when you grow up?

What do Japanese kids want to be when they grow up? According to an annual poll by Dai-Ichi Mutual Life to elementary school and younger children, professional baseball player is the most popular occupation for boys, followed by football (soccer) player, and scholar/doctor. Food creator such as a pastry chef/baker is the most popular occupation with girls, followed by kindergarten teacher, and nurse. Baseball and football players had been the top two since the Dai-Ichi Mutual Life started the survey in 1989, but both fell to forth place in 1999. With Ichiro, Godzilla and Matsuzaka doing well in the Major League and Shunsuke Nakamura becoming MVP in the Scottish League, professional athletes seem to have regained popularity in the last several years. Carpenter came in fourth for boys, which I think is typically Japanese and reflects the craftsman culture.

Records in my my kindergarten year book show that I said "I want to become a stewardess, so Mummy, can I learn English?" I don't remember saying that at all!