"Want to help each other" but "not helping each other"?

In November 2020, DENTSU SOKEN INC. and Dentsu Future Forecasting Support Lab conducted the "Quality of Society Survey 2020" with 12,000 respondents nationwide, under the supervision of Professor Yasufumi Shibauchi of Tokyo Keizai University.

This survey, conducted annually since 2019, aims to understand people's awareness and values regarding society. This series explores pathways toward realizing a society where people feel a sense of purpose, based on the latest survey results.
The survey examined people's awareness and values regarding society from three perspectives: "Individual Perspective," "Family/Community Perspective," and "Society Perspective."

This installment presents findings from the "Family/Community Perspective: Cooperation and Mutual Support within Social Groups."

<Table of Contents>
▼Approximately 80% accept "men taking paternity leave," and about 70% accept "international marriages." Signs of a new family outlook
▼ Mutual support consciousness centers on family. People feel volunteering is necessary but don't act on it
▼Overall, interpersonal relationships are good. Older individuals tend to perceive their relationships as better.
▼Today's society: A mix of resentment and empathy
▼Are people cooperating to build a better society?

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Approximately 80% accept "men taking paternity leave," and about 70% accept "international marriages." Signs of a new family outlook

First, let's examine the "family," one of the units that make up social groups.

Regarding new family forms, 78.8% accept "men taking paternity leave." Acceptance rates were 73.2% for "international marriages," 70.4% for "stay-at-home dads," 61.5% for "separate surnames for married couples," 56.6% for "foster care systems," and 42.6% for "same-sex marriage."

This indicates that many people hold positive views on new family structures (figures represent the combined responses of "I think it is acceptable" and "I somewhat think it is acceptable").

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Mutual Support Focused on Family. People Feel the Need for Volunteering but Don't Act

Next, let's examine people's attitudes toward "mutual support" in different situations.

Regarding "people you can consult with or who will help you" (Figure 2), "spouse/partner" and "parents" were around 30-50%, followed by "children" and "siblings" at 10-30%.

For "people I want to consult with or help" (Figure 3), the scores for "friends/acquaintances" were relatively high, but otherwise, the trends did not differ significantly from Figure 2.

Both Figures 2 and 3 highlight that while mutual aid awareness increases beyond family ties during emergencies like disasters, everyday mutual support remains centered on family.

Furthermore, 67.0% of respondents felt that "volunteer activities are necessary for society," and 34.7% expressed a desire to "participate in such activities." However, only 18.5% had "participated within the past year." This indicates that while there is a strong awareness that members of society should help each other, this awareness does not translate into action when it comes to one's own involvement (Figure 4).

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Overall, interpersonal relationships are good. Older individuals tend to perceive their relationships as better.

Next, let's examine how consumers themselves rate the quality of their personal and social relationships.

The combined percentage of those who "think they are good" and "tend to think they are good" is 58.0% overall. More than half of the respondents feel their personal and social relationships are good (Figure 5-1).

Breaking it down by gender and age group, both men and women in their 60s and older scored higher (Figure 5-2), showing a tendency for people to feel their relationships are better as they get older.

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A Society Where Resentment and Empathy Coexist

Finally, we asked whether "empathy" or "resentment" exists between people of different positions.

Among the groups surveyed, the highest level of resentment was felt between "high-income earners and low-income earners," followed closely by "politicians and the public."

It also became clear that even in other groups, the degree of resentment felt was greater than that of empathy or respect (Figure 6).

It appears we live in a society where differences in economic status and employment status are internalized as resentment, posing a risk of diminishing mutual understanding.

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Are people cooperating for a better society?

Thus far, we have presented survey results from the "Family/Community Perspective: Cooperation and Mutual Aid within Social Groups" viewpoint, examining whether social groups are cooperating to realize a better society.

Overall, focusing on the "family" unit, we found that understanding is developing regarding new family structures, such as men taking paternity leave.

Regarding "human and social relationships," while over half of respondents perceive their relationships as good, the tendency was for "people they want to help or who help them" to remain within the sphere of family and immediate social circles.

Notably, regarding mutual understanding between groups with differing positions, feelings of "resentment" appear to be more deeply rooted in society than "empathy." The circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, where face-to-face communication has become more difficult than before, may be contributing to this trend.

However, to realize a better society going forward, it is necessary to foster a spirit of mutual support and create mechanisms to embody it, while acknowledging this current reality.

Based on these findings, we identified three key challenges and explored potential directions for addressing them.

The first challenge is fostering a societal consciousness that accepts and nurtures new family values. We need to realize a society where various systems are standardized, premised on men taking ownership and actively participating in household chores and childcare.

The second challenge is the disconnect between the desire for mutual aid and actual actions within society. Many people feel a willingness to help but fail to translate this into action. This is likely due to the prevailing notion that "asking for help is a sign of weakness and an imposition on others" (meaning that the recognition that asking for help can actually be a sign of strength or a source of relief for others is not widespread among both those offering help and those needing it).

To overcome this bottleneck, mechanisms are needed that enable the building of flexible relationships. These should allow individuals to easily signal when they need help and for those who receive the signal to readily offer assistance.

The third challenge is the sense of resentment between members of society in different positions. To overcome this, it is crucial to build a society that prevents divisions between people in different positions, while acknowledging the inevitable social class differences arising from differences in income and employment status. To overcome the traditional mindset that "only those close to me matter or can be trusted," individual efforts will also be necessary. These efforts should involve deepening mutual understanding through dialogue and communication, enabling interaction with people in different positions.

The next theme is: "Is the social system functioning for people's better lives?"

*The percentages in the graph are calculated based on the actual number of respondents within the total and are rounded. Similarly, the combined percentage of respondents is calculated based on the actual number of respondents within the total combined portion and is rounded. Therefore, the sum of the individual percentages may not always match the combined total.

Survey Overview
Title: "Quality of Society Survey"
Survey Period: First Survey: December 11-18, 2019; Second Survey: November 11-17, 2020
Survey Method: Internet survey
Target Area: Nationwide
Respondents: 12,000 men and women aged 18 to 74
Survey Company: Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.

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