Mother's Day last Sunday was celebrated with flowers, cards and perhaps a day off from cooking and housework for most mothers, but overall, Japanese mothers had perhaps less to celebrate.

A survey by the international charity Save the Children ranked the national condition for Japanese mothers as 32nd in the world, the worst among the Group of Seven industrialized nations.

The relatively low position of Japan's mothers was based on combined ratings of maternal health and children's well-being, where Japan's condition was relatively good, together with educational, economic and political status, where Japanese mothers ranked much lower than in other developed countries.