Quality of Life in Japan - Contemporary Perspectives on Happiness

This edited volume approaches the life experiences and well-being of Japanese people from an empirical perspective. It explores the current trend of happiness among Japanese over time and examines the association of income, lifestyle, and perceived life conditions using modern econometric models with supplementary qualitative observations. Issues relating to ageing, gender, household division of labour, and emigration are also examined to provide a wide scope of results based on both survey and field methods for culturally sensitive researchers. Going beyond the conventional cultural interpretation of the uniqueness of the Japanese case, this book provides timely, empirical evidence for understanding how the various social groups comprising the Japanese population have enjoyed a better quality of life, while some groups are very dissatisfied with social arrangements and have elected to emigrate. The book is a pioneering endeavour to reveal the detailed structure of quality of life and well-being in Japanese society.

Ming-Chang Tsai is a Research Fellow in Academia Sinica, Taiwan. Working from a comparative sociological approach to life quality research, he concentrates on Asian populations to understand the influences of culture and social structures in how people in this region live happily or unhappily. He receives the Research Fellow Award from the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies.

Noriko Iwai is Director of Japanese General Social Surveys (JGSS) Research Center and Professor of Faculty of Business Administration, Osaka University of Commerce, Japan. Leading the JGSS's Project and East Asian Social Survey Project in past decades, she has been elucidating both the changing and persistent aspects in Japanese people's social values and behaviours. Besides family studies, the scope of her research has extended to the impact of natural disasters on people's quality of life.