The Cold Truth Behind the Question: "Is Japan Heaven?"

Every so often, people online declare that Japan is heaven.

It is safe. The food is good. The trains run on time. You can walk around late at night without fear.

Others say Japan is hell. Wages are stagnant, while taxes and social insurance costs are high. The declining birthrate and aging population show no sign of stopping.

Both views are reasonably accurate.

The question “Is Japan heaven?” has a bug built into it from the start.

The answer changes completely depending on what you compare Japan with.

Japan and the United States Direct Stress in Different Directions

Years ago, I heard an interesting idea in a university sociology lecture.

Japan has a low murder rate, yet suicide is a serious social issue. The United States has more murders than Japan.

The professor suggested that social stress may be directed outward in the United States and inward in Japan.

One view is that people in Japan tend to corner themselves with thoughts such as “This is my fault” or “I must not cause trouble for others,” while Americans are more inclined to hold other people responsible.

I do not know how accurate that explanation is, but I remember finding it strangely convincing.

In Japan, you do not have to worry much about bullets, but you have to keep watching the mood and expectations of everyone around you.

In the United States, there may be less pressure to monitor the mood around you, but in some areas, personal safety is a genuine concern.

Which one is heaven?

From Hell, Japan Looks Like Heaven

On YouTube and elsewhere, you sometimes see people from conflict zones describe Japan as heaven.

Someone who heard gunfire yesterday and did not know whether there would be food tomorrow can walk into a convenience store at midnight and buy something to eat.

Of course that feels like heaven. I would say the same thing.

But that is Japan seen from the bottom of hell.

The view is different for someone born and raised in Japan.

There has been prolonged economic stagnation, a weakened yen, a declining birthrate, and an aging population. The burden of social security keeps rising while the number of people supporting it keeps falling.

The safety, food, and infrastructure are excellent. The outlook for the future, however, is quite grim.

“But it is safer than a conflict zone.”

If someone tells me that, all I can say is: of course it is.

Lower the comparison that far, and almost any developed country will look like heaven.

Even the Nordic Countries Are Not Heaven

What, then, about the Nordic countries that regularly appear near the top of global happiness rankings?

Their welfare systems are generous, but taxes are also heavy. They also face the problem of high earners and talented professionals moving to countries with lower taxes.

The state spends money educating people, only to see them leave as soon as they become successful. That is no laughing matter for the country.

Winters also bring extremely short daylight hours, and a lack of sunlight is known to affect both physical and mental health.

In Japan, constantly watching the mood around you wears you down. In the Nordic countries, the lack of sunlight wears you down.

A high position in a happiness ranking does not mean that everyone living there is happy.

Choose a Hell You Can Live With, Not Heaven

In the end, every country has strengths and weaknesses.

One country is safe but suffocating. Another is free but places a heavy burden of personal responsibility on you. Another provides generous welfare but charges high taxes.

Choosing a country is not about searching for heaven.

It is about choosing the kind of hell you can live with.

I do not want a society full of guns. I do not want suffocating social pressure. I do not want high taxes. I do not want winters without sunlight either.

Eliminate the options one by one, and eventually a relatively tolerable country remains.

That is what people call “a good place to live.”

Of course, the equation changes if you have enough money.

You can live in a safe neighborhood, pay to make inconveniences disappear, and move to another country when you dislike the climate.

In the end, enough money can turn almost any developed country into heaven.

Apparently, admission to heaven depends not on your nationality, but on the balance in your bank account.