Quality of life is a permanent concern of all people, worldwide. Often quality of life is equated with material wealth, but affluence and abundance do not always engender happiness.

This book compares the quality of life and happiness in Japan and The Netherlands, two advanced industrial nations with a different culture and institutional background—both of which rose from the ashes of war and both having created wealth and prosperity for their people. On average, Japan scores systematically lower on happiness than The Netherlands. This observation elicited the question: how can we explain the variance? Is it culture and the societal structure of family and friendship relations? Or is it the organization of work and style of management? Or is it the way power is handled in politics and society? In short, what has been the effect of the dominant economic, political and social model of post-war Japan and The Netherlands on the quality of life and happiness of their citizens?

The papers in this book provide a broad spectrum of views and analyses on the quality of life in Japan and The Netherlands and justify the conclusion that happiness is not a trivial matter. Rather, it constitutes a powerful element in the mind of people and serves as a compass in life.

Table of Contents:

Preface—Peter Post; Foreword—Joop Stam and Ruut Veenhoven; Introduction—Joop Stam; 1) Quality of Life in Nations: As Measured by How Long and How Happy People Live—Ruut Veenhoven; 2) Trends in Happiness in Japan and The Netherlands—Ivan Chan; 3) Happiness in The Netherlands and Japan Since the 1980s: Trends From a Generational Perspective—Henk Vinken; 4) The Importance of Being Healthy: Changing Views on the Good Life in The Netherlands Since 1945—Crétien van Campen; 5) Trends in Happiness Among Young Japanese Women in the 1990s—Toshisuke Ozawa; 6) Cross-National Comparison of the Structure of Well-Being: Data of the World Values Survey Examined—Kazufumi Manade; 7) Polarizing Society and Quality of Life in Japan—Takeshi Shinoda; 8) Transition to Later Life and Quality of Life—Nobuhiko Maeda; 9) Happiness Across Cultures—How to Rate it, How to Achieve It—Peter ten Hoopen; 10) Business Structure and Governance: Differences Between Japanese and Dutch Companies and Quality of Life—Yoshitaka Nagasawa; 11) Does Happiness Matter? On the Value of Great Happiness or a Great Number—Ruut Veenhoven; Glossary; Index; Notes on the Contributors.