The current generation of parents grew up with materials such as comic books and games. As IT devices such as smartphones and tablets have spread, it has become easier for parents and children to access contents easily, and this has brought changes to the child-rearing environment. Various studies about media effects on children have examined how television, video games or IT devices influence them. However, only a few studies have focused on the effect of contents. In the marketing area, it has been shown that characters (iconogra phic play roles appearing in contents) can be transitional objects or objects of attachment (Aihara 2007). Nowadays, various devices are widely used and specific contents are available on multiple media. Characters play a role in connecting these media to one type of content (Steinberg 2013; Azuma 2001). In light of this background, research focusing on characters from the perspective of sociology can be of significance.

   In this study, I conducted semi-structured interviews with mothers with young children in order to examine the decision-making process for mothers to use characters in childcare. I collected interview data such as character contents preferred by children, situation of character use, thoughts of mothers about characters, and changes in children, and as a result there came to light a process whereby mothers give characters to their children. First, mothers consolidate their own views and sometimes feel resistance or dislike towards giving characters. They then find the benefits of using characters, their own awareness changes as they see their children grow and change, and they feel joy and positiveness towards giving and utilizing characters. In the end, mothers come to understand their children’s interests and their future social relationships. As a whole, mothers had positive feelings about giving characters to their children through this decision-making process.

  The purpose of this research is to study the meaning of “romantic love” and its rewriting during changes in individual circumstances among young people in Japan with a high education and permanent work through an analysis of two types of research data related to romantic love, marriage, sex/reproduction and their relationships. Data was collected through five focus-group discussions and semi-structured interviews targeting unmarried men/women who were in their 20s (born between 1987 to 1990) when the research was conducted. Results show that both men and women redefine the meaning of “romantic love” by combining and separating the norms of “love, sex and marriage” based on conditions such as the increase in age, their relationship status and their partners. More specifically the research shows that once both men and women start to become conscious of marriage, including future childbirth, their definition of “romantic love” greatly changes, with the corresponding adjustment to combine and separate love, sex and marriage. Moreover, it was also suggested that this redefinition of “romantic love” is an adaptive strategy taken by individuals during the prolonged relationship period before marriage.

  The proportion of third-party guardians in the adult guardianship system is increasing. Adult guardians take on responsibilities for their ward’s financial management and decision-making. Use of the adult guardianship system has a great impact on families. The system is directly connected to the disposal of the assets of each protected person and that person’s family, and hence directly influences their household economy. Where each protected person lives and how he or she is cared for are also greatly impacted by the guardian’s care and custody of his or her affairs.

  Therefore, as the use of the adult guardianship system expands, and particularly as the number of third parties acting as guardians increases, it has become necessary to study the system from the perspective of its impact on the household economy of its users.

  This paper accordingly depicts the way in which the adult guardianship system manifests within families as a phenomenon known as the individualization of the household economy and, on the basis of case studies, clarifies how the popularization of the adult guardianship system impacts families. Specifically, the study understands the influence of the operation and development of the adult guardianship system in relation to life management and household economics, which have positioned the household economy as the main research topic.

  The paper concludes by showing that the “socialization of adult guardianship” is a problem related to household divisions and other aspects of family structures.