The fact that Japan is a wealthy country has been made public. The Bank of Japan released its preliminary Flow of Funds Statistics for the April-June 2025 period. Financial assets held by households in the April 2025 period increased 1% year-on-year to a record high of ¥2,239 trillion. Sixty percent of this ¥2,200 trillion in assets are held by households aged 60 or older. Everyone wishes to spend their retirement years in good physical, mental, and social condition. There are some examples of this wish coming true. Nuns who wrote about happy things in their diaries lived nearly 10 years longer than those who wrote negative things. It seems that humans have an aspect to them that they are not happy because they are healthy, but are healthy because they are happy.
It seems we’re living in an age that seniors, even those with physical or intellectual disabilities, are valued for taking the initiative in their lives and choosing the right path for themselves. In some ways, we seem to be living in an age that the satisfaction of living well is more valuable than material satisfaction. Recent advances in diagnostic technology have established self-diagnosis methods that can measure individual happiness with considerable accuracy. An increasing number of companies using these methods are boosting their employees’ happiness and improving their performance. Every time an employee experiences a moment of happiness, positive emotions are generated, leading to increased creativity and innovation, which in turn leads to better performance. It has also been shown that when companies and managers create a happy and cheerful workplace, sick leave is reduced and medical expenses are lowered. Meanwhile, employees with lower levels of happiness are increasingly being evaluated as taking more sick leave and performing less well than their peers. Living in homes, workplaces, and communities filled with happiness and joy may lead to happier lives.
A research team including Keio University conducted an experiment on the “happiness hormone (oxytocin).” Sibling mice born to the same mother were housed singly or in groups of four or five and observed for 12 weeks. Mice kept alone secreted less oxytocin than mice kept in groups. Empirically, it has been reported that lonely people who experience less physical contact also produce less oxytocin. This experiment led to a growing body of research showing that loneliness without social connections can lead to mental illnesses, as well as obesity and diabetes. This finding suggests that compassionate human connections are important for both the wealthy and the lower classes. We want to ensure this element in our homes, workplaces, and communities.
Note
1 dollar is worth 150 yen.
