Australia
USA
Latest News
Tuesday, 8th January 2013
In General Japan News,
Japanese relatively happy people, Gallup survey reveals
Japan does not rank as the happiest country in the world, according to a new poll by Gallup which seeks to record which citizens are the most content with their lot in life.
Some 148 countries were polled and approximately 1,000 people from each country were questioned about their experiences the previous day in a bid to gauge the overall mood.
Citizens from each participating country were asked a number of questions about their general wellbeing including if they felt well-rested, if they had been treated with respect all day, if they smiled or laughed a lot the previous day and if they had learnt or done something interesting.
Some 72 per cent of Japanese citizens reported experiencing the positive emotions asked about which placed them around half way down the table.
Perhaps surprisingly - given its economic status in the world - Panama came top of the list when it comes to countries which experience positive emotions, with 85 per cent of its citizens admitting to feeling respected and well-rested.
Gallup reported that there was a pattern among South American countries with Latin Americans figuring in eight out of the top ten countries experiencing positive emotions across the world.
In contrast relatively wealthy countries such as Singapore, which had the least amount of people reporting happy emotions, Iraq and Armenia seem to be nations of relatively unhappy citizens.
The poll seemed to show that overall, the majority of people in those countries questioned - some 85 per cent - said they felt they had been treated with respect.
In another survey conducted by Gallup in 2011, it was revealed that those living in Iraq experienced the most negative emotions on a daily basis.
Of those countries which belong to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), citizens of Greece reported experiencing the highest levels of negative emotions which included sadness, worry and physical pain.
Greece scored 38 in the list of countries experiencing negative emotions, while Japan scored just 21 suggesting its citizens experience relatively few negative feelings compared to other OECD countries.
Written by Graham McPherson
Inside Japan UK office
Inside Japan US office
Inside Japan Australia office
Inside Japan - Japan office
