On March 20th, the 2023 edition of the “World Happiness Report,” published on the occasion of “International Day of Happiness,” was released. This report has been published annually since 2012 and is based on opinion polls conducted by Gallup, a US-based company.
It measures the happiness levels of each country by asking approximately 1,000 individuals in each country how satisfied they are with their recent lives on a scale of 0 (completely dissatisfied) to 10 (completely satisfied).
Japan ranks 47th out of 137 countries.
In the country rankings of happiness levels, Japan ranked 47th out of 137 countries, showing an improvement from the previous year’s ranking of 54th out of 146 countries. Finland took the first place, with several European countries prominently featured in the top rankings, particularly the five Nordic countries up to the 7th position.
Here are the rankings of some major countries along with their happiness scores (0-10): 1st – Finland:, 2nd – Denmark, 3rd – Iceland:, 4th – Israel, 5th – Netherlands, 6th – Sweden, 7th – Norway, 47th – Japan, 57th – South Korea, 64th – China
Perception of happiness affects the scores.
The assessment of happiness levels involves six variables: 1) per capita GDP, 2) social support, 3) healthy life expectancy, 4) freedom to make life choices, 5) generosity, and 6) absence of corruption.
When comparing Japan with the top-ranking countries, Japan surpasses them in healthy life expectancy and its per capita GDP does not show a significant difference. However, Japan’s scores are lower in subjective evaluation criteria such as freedom to make life choices and generosity.
In Eastern countries like Japan (47th), South Korea (57th), and China (64th), the perception of happiness is subjective, and their societies and cultures differ significantly from the Western countries, which imposes certain limitations on quantification and ranking.
How Japan can enhance happiness levels.
As a country facing challenges like aging and declining birth rates ahead of the rest of the world, Japan’s task is to establish and implement approaches that achieve both prosperity and sustainability, enabling each individual to experience happiness. To achieve this, it is necessary for Japan to establish and implement its unique approach at an early stage.
2023.3.25.