Scientist most popular job among Japanese boys for 1st time in 15 years

Japan Today -- Jan 05

"Scientist and scholar" clinched the top spot in an annual survey on most popular jobs among Japanese boys for the first time in 15 years, following recent Nobel Prize awards to Japanese scientists, a life insurer said Thursday.

Among Japanese girls, working at food shops continued to be the most popular occupation for the 21st straight year, followed by nurses and preschool teachers in second and third spots, Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co said.

The survey also showed that baseball players was in second place for boys, topping soccer players, which came in third, for the first time in eight years.

In the survey, boys who chose wanting to become a scientist or scholar cited reasons such as wanting to "completely cure cancer" and "make a robot to play with."

In the most recent Nobel Prize awards to Japanese scientists, Yoshinori Ohsumi won the prize in physiology or medicine in 2016, while microbiologist Satoshi Omura and physicist Takaaki Kajita each won Nobel prizes in 2015.