Tokyo- More children in Japan respect their mothers than those who admire their fathers for the first time since 1997, according to a survey conducted by major Japanese ad agency Hakuhodo Inc.

Ahead of Father's Day on Sunday, the result comes as an unwelcome surprise to fathers in Japan.

The survey, launched in 1997 and conducted every 10 years to check long-term changes in children's perceptions and behavior, covered 800 children, from elementary school fourth-graders to junior high school second-graders, in the greater Tokyo area.

The share of children who respect their mothers grew 13.3 percentage points from 1997 to 68.1 pct, hitting a record high.

Meanwhile, the proportion of children who think highly of their fathers came to 61.5 pct, almost unchanged from 59.7 pct in 1997.

The latest survey apparently reflected an increase in the number of mothers who do housework while working actively, according to the Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living.

The institute also attributed mothers' advance in the survey to a closer mother-child relationship.

Elsewhere in the survey, children who prioritize study over play outnumbered for the first time those who do the opposite. It showed that 58.1 pct of respondents regard study as more important than play and 41.9 pct felt the opposite. (Jiji Press)