Japan is the 81st world's happiest country. Too low, high or normal?

[let`s talk]

According to Forbes Japan ranked 81st. Too low I think.
http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/14/world-happiest-countries-lifestyle-realestate-gallup-table.html

[Bucky]

I don't know, Iran even beat Japan. . . Sounds 'bout right to me.

[IkemenTommy]

Not even bukkake can save this one

[Kanchou]

Yeah...that seems a little low.

Maybe it's all the overworked salarymen and the high suicide rate.

Oh, and the fact that there's about as much livable land as the state of Alabama, with 1/3rd the population of the entire US.

[Taro Toporific]

According to Forbes Japan ranked 81st. Too low I think.
http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/14/world-happiest-countries-lifestyle-realestate-gallup-table.html

Sounds too low since Japanese treasure their misery.




[YT]eWgsBkupT3M[/YT]

[Doctor Stop]

Oh, and the fact that there's about as much livable land as the state of Alabama, with 1/3rd the population of the entire US.

Yeah, but a lot of livable land in Japan is uninhabited or under inhabited.

Being number 81 isn't bad when it's number 1 in another category:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_OECD_countries_by_suicide_rate

[Christoff]

you have to admit it is pretty bad when you get beat out by Bosnia and Herzegovina

[Greji]

According to Forbes Japan ranked 81st. Too low I think.
http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/14/world-happiest-countries-lifestyle-realestate-gallup-table.html

Well, well, well. Take, what'll you do now?

[Kanchou]

Yeah, but a lot of livable land in Japan is uninhabited or under inhabited.

That sort of makes it worse.

[Doctor Stop]

That sort of makes it worse.

I guess that depends on the inhabitants.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I guess that depends on the inhabitants.

Don't post pictures like that when it's this close to AO's rutting season.

[Iraira]

I guess that depends on the inhabitants.

afterwards there was a spray paint shortage in Alabama.

[Christoff]

M'erica, these colors don't run baby!!!

[Mike Oxlong]

Moving on up.

Denmark named happiest nation; Japan frowns at 53rd

Denmark and Switzerland are the No. 1 and No. 2 happiest nations, while crisis-torn Syria and Burundi are the most miserable, according to a global ranking released Wednesday.

The 2016 World Happiness Report seeks to quantify happiness as a means of making societies healthier and more efficient. The United Nations published the first such study in 2012.

Japan came a glum No. 53 on the list.

As with last year, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden round out the top 10, making small or medium-size countries in Western Europe seven of the top 10 happiest countries.

Burundi was the most miserable, followed by war-ravaged Syria, Togo, Afghanistan and six other countries in sub-Saharan Africa — Benin, Rwanda, Guinea, Liberia, Tanzania and Madagascar — as the least happy of 157 countries.

The report compared data from 2005 to 2015 showing that Greece, which suffered enormously from the global recession and now faces a crippling migrant crisis, had the highest drop in happiness. Japan fared poorly, too: It was 107th worst for a decline in happiness.

The report did not discuss the reasons for Japan’s low sentiment, but it cited studies of the tsunami of 2011 as showing the social context is important for happiness-supporting resilience under crisis.

“There is now research showing that levels of trust and social capital in the Fukushima region of Japan were sufficient that the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 actually led to increased trust and happiness in the region.

“The happiness effects of crisis response may also be mediated through generosity triggered by a large natural disaster, with the additional generosity adding to happiness,” the report said.

The United States, where sharp polarization has been exposed in the 2016 presidential election campaign, out-ranked several Western European countries to be 13th most happy nation, up two spots from last year.

Germany was 16th, Britain 23rd and France 32nd. A string of Middle Eastern kingdoms — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain — out-ranked Japan, and Italy at No. 50.

China, the world’s most populous country, was ranked 83rd, and India, the world’s largest democracy, came in at 118.

The authors said six factors — GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, social freedom, generosity and absence of corruption — explain almost three-quarters of the variation across different countries.

The report compared levels of happiness in 2005-2007, before the onset of the global recession, with 2013-2015, the most recent three-year period for which data from a Gallup World Poll are available.

Of the 126 countries for which comparable data were available, 55 had significant increases in happiness and 45 had significant decreases, the report found.

Among the top 20 gainers were Thailand and China, eight countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States and Eastern Europe, seven in Latin America, two in sub-Saharan Africa and Macedonia in the Balkans.

The 20 largest losers of happiness included Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Yemen and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East; Japan and India in Asia; and Cyprus, Spain, Italy and Greece in Europe — all hard hit by the economic crisis.

Ukraine, where the east has been roiled by a pro-Russian insurgency since 2014, has also fallen into the group of 10 largest happiness declines.

Iceland and Ireland offer the best examples of maintaining happiness in the face of economic crisis due to high degrees of social support, the report found.

[kurogane]

Strange there was no mention of the 20 year recession and lack of relief from same despite bold promises by a politically unpredictable leader, but at least they managed to crowbar in Fukushima, which has had a massive lasting effect.........on the people of the affected region. I say about 10 spots too low for this scale, but just about right on the Goldilocks Scale.

[Russell]

How do they measure "happiness"?

If it is by some psychological studies, I have my reservations, because those are notoriously unreliable.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I'm surprised people in Afghanistan are so unhappy after we brought them so much freedom. Ingrates.

[kurogane]

How do they measure "happiness"?
If it is by some psychological studies, I have my reservations, because those are notoriously unreliable.

You should cancel your reservations and hold the findings in outright contempt. These studies are good BBS fodder but methodologically they're rubbish. Nice link, there, thanks. That looks like an interesting Proper Read.

[Takechanpoo]

if you are pure japanese and specific type of ppl based on ideational things,
i dont think contemporary japan, especially the dreary suburban area is bad.
rather i like it.

[Coligny]

if you are pure japanese and specific type of ppl based on ideational things,
i dont think contemporary japan, especially the dreary suburban area is bad.
rather i like it.

image.jpeg

[Grumpy Gramps]

Japan now 9th most peaceful cuntry in world. We made the top ten, yay!

National cost of violence: US$ 114,182,296,511
Source...

[Hijinx]

I think Pokemon Go is going to shoot Japan up in the rankings shortly.

[matsuki]

I think Pokemon Go is going to shoot Japan up in the rankings shortly.

...or down?

Aichi Prefectural Police have arrested a 49-year-old man for allegedly molesting a female player of Pokemon Go at a popular gathering spot for enthusiasts of the smartphone game in Nagoya, reports the Asahi Shimbun

http://www.tokyoreporter.com/2016/08/08 ... ed-ground/

[Russell]

I think Pokemon Go is going to shoot Japan up in the rankings shortly.

...or down?

Aichi Prefectural Police have arrested a 49-year-old man for allegedly molesting a female player of Pokemon Go at a popular gathering spot for enthusiasts of the smartphone game in Nagoya, reports the Asahi Shimbun

http://www.tokyoreporter.com/2016/08/08 ... ed-ground/

I suspect one half of the population will be happier, the other half less so.