A preference for baby girls

For the majority of women in Japan, a girl baby is preferable to a boy baby, according to recent findings of a fertility survey conducted by the Institute of Population Problems of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW). The nationwide survey, carried out in July 1992, found that 75.7% of women would prefer to have a girl baby if they were to have only 1 child--a marked change from 10 years ago when only 48.5% of women said that they would prefer a girl child. Conducted every 5 years, the survey gained responses from 8844 married women under 50 years of age. In giving reasons for wanting a girl child, many women commented that a daughter is more likely to remain closer to parents than a son. The findings of the survey reflect the changes that have taken place in Japanese society in recent years including the emergence of the nuclear family, later marriage, fewer children, and population aging. The survey also found that only 15.2% of marriages currently follow the practice of omiai (arranged marriages), a sharp decrease from 23.6% of 5 years ago. Meanwhile, couples are waiting longer after their first encounter before getting married. According to the survey, couples married during the 1987-1992 period waited an average of 2.97 years after their first encounter, a sharp contrast from the average waiting period of 1.97 years for couples married between 1972-1977. The survey also found that while the total fertility rate has fallen in Japan to 1.50 in 1992 from 1.75 in 1980, fertility for married couples has remained virtually unchanged since 1972 at 2.21.