The present study compared the quality of life (QOL) of Japanese and Finnish children inrelation to their friendships and school lives to examine the characteristics of Japanesechildren. A questionnaire survey was conducted involving 1,420 Japanese and 397 Finnishchildren. The QOL of the Japanese children in relation to their school lives was lower than thatof Finnish ones. There was a significant correlation between "Japanese children's pleasure ofattending school" and their QOL score in relation to friendships. The results suggest thatrelationships with friends in school life are significantly important for Japanese children. It isnecessary to conduct further research to analyze children's relationships with friends, andexamine factors influencing children's school life-associated QOL.