According to a recent survey conducted by condiments giant Ajinomoto, it seems that traditional eating habits are changing fast in Japanese homes. The report says that only about 20 percent of married women in major city areas lay out eating utensils correctly in accordance with traditional Japanese etiquette standards.

The survey showed that modern families are showing little regard for traditional Japanese table manners, often placing bowls in the wrong spots or lining chopsticks incorrectly. The survey discovered that the role of soup, once an essential accompaniment of almost every Japanese meal, is declining as people consume beverages like tea with their meals instead of waiting until they had finished as had been the custom in the past.

Families served rice with nearly every evening meal. Proper etiquette requires the rice bowl be placed on the left and the soup bowl on the right, but the correct method was used by only 20 percent of the 235 married women from 20 to 64 living in and around Tokyo and Osaka.

According to correct tradition in Japan, chopsticks are supposed to be arranged horizontally in front of the eater with the fatter of the two ends where the sticks are held on the right. However, 21 percent of the respondents lined chopsticks with the fat end either left or right, another 7 percent placed them on a stand or holder, 6 percent placed them on dishes and 2 percent lined them vertically.

And finally, around 70 percent of women served beverages at the beginning of meals instead of waiting until after the meal as tradition demands.