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.