A comparative study of children's television programmes: American and Japanese

American Children's Stories on Television (ACSTV) and Japanese counterparts (JCSTV) were analysed with emphasis on the transcultural element, according to the main theme and the features of the key characters. The most common theme of both ACSTV and JCSTV was authority. The authority figure in ACSTV was viewed as a competitor, while in JCSTV it was viewed as being evil. The intimacy of the mother-child relationship was prominent in JCSTV. In ACSTV, individualism was emphasised, while in JCSTV group affiliation was more emphasised.