Police officer, as well as cake shop and bakery worker ranked high on the list of dream jobs among children in Japan, a private-sector survey has found.

The survey, conducted by major chemical maker Kuraray, asked children enrolling in elementary school in fiscal 2025 what they want to be when they grow up, and 4,000 kids gave answers online.

The survey results were announced ahead of Children's Day in the country on Monday.

Cake shop and bakery worker topped the overall rankings covering both boys and girls, chosen by 11.7% of the respondents, followed by police officer, picked by 10.5%, and athlete, selected by 8.5%.

Among boys, police officer was picked by 16.1% to rank top for the first time in two years.

Athlete came second, with 15.4%. About 70% of boys who chose athlete said they want to be soccer or baseball players. The proportion of boys who chose baseball hit 25.3%, the highest in 15 years.

YouTuber ranked fifth, picked by 4.8%. YouTuber "has consolidated its position as a dream job among boys," a Kuraray official in charge of the survey said.

Cake shop and bakery worker topped the list for girls for the 27th straight year since the survey started in 1999. But the share of girls who picked the job was the lowest ever, at 20.2%.

Television personality, singer and model remained second, with 9.7%, and nursery worker ranked third, also unchanged, with 6.4%.

Kuraray makes Clarino brand artificial leather, used in products including randoseru backpacks for elementary school children.

The latest online survey was conducted between May 2024 and February this year.