The present study aimed to compare the characteristics of empathy as scaffolding for constructing friendships. Participants were 24 high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and, for comparison, 24 typically developing children (TYP). The children were matched on age (7-11 years) and gender (each group included 6 girls). The empathic responses that were analyzed included Parallel Empathy (P-E), which refers to reproduction of another person's feelings, and Reactive Empathy (R-E), which refers to one's emotional reaction to another person's feelings. The children's empathic response to their closest friend was measured with the Affective Situation Test (AST). The children with autism spectrum disorders achieved the same level of Parallel Empathy scores as the typically developing children; however, the Reactive Empathy scores of more than a third of the children with autism spectrum disorders were noticeably lower than those of the typically developing children. This suggests that a weakness in Reactive Empathy in children with autism spectrum disorders may be an important factor in the difficulty that they have in constructing reciprocal relationships with friends.