Cecilia Ramirez
January 31, 2018
Language and Lit Paper 1:Final
The Japan Times: Happiest People In The World: Paper 1 Analysis
In Happiest People In The World an editorial piece published by The Japan Times the
a
...
Cecilia Ramirez
January 31, 2018
Language and Lit Paper 1:Final
The Japan Times: Happiest People In The World: Paper 1 Analysis
In Happiest People In The World an editorial piece published by The Japan Times the
article sets out to inform and persuade the Japanese population on the topic of happiness and the
idea that happiness can come from non-material comforts and has no correlation to the
economic/class of a working individual. The author also intends to ask for change in society to
higher the low rates of life satisfaction Japan has. Throughout the text a theme of happiness in
the world is shared with the reader as that is what surrounds the central argument of this piece.
The article builds it overall argument by sharing that as the Japanese society and the government
evolves, more social action must be taken for Japan to gain a better familiarity with nonwork/economic related comforts which can lead have higher rates of ‘life satisfaction’ which is
something that many Japanese people lack based on the piece. The Japan Times builds this
argument by using a range of research findings which relate to high levels of happiness in other
countries in comparison to Japan. Additionally, due to the fact that The Japan Times is an
editorial news media outlet from Japan the author of the piece shares a lot of opinion and
perspectives. Finally, the author of this editorial uses examples of how significant happiness is to
an individual and to an individual's livelihood. This serves as a way for the author to implement
pathos into his argument and further persuade readers of the importance of happiness and how
finances have no correlation to it which is what drives so many individuals to work themselves
under such tense conditions. When combining all of these discussion points, The Japan Times
piece, Happiest People In The World is able to formulate a descriptive and explanatory piece for
its Japanese audience.
The editorial piece discusses how Japan has the highest standard of living and longest life
expectancy in the world but it doesn't have the happiest people. The Japan Times builds this
argument by using a range of research findings which relate to high levels of happiness in other
countries in comparison to Japan. The author does this by explicitly stating where his findings
came from and citing them. The Japan Times expressed that Latin American countries dominated
the top 10 happiest countries in the world and many of these countries were on the lowest
economic development. “Latin American interviewees cited as the source of their daily
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happiness taking pleasure in friends, family, nature”. These are all non “material comforts”
which the author wanted to make this clear to the reader when sharing this information. The
author also addresses leaders and their lack of support on what is described as a rising conflict in
Japan. “Newly elected leaders should take note that past emphasis on economic growth and
material gains is out of date.” The author implies that action must be taken for more people to be
happier and not be have such a clouded mindset which solely focuses on making money and
being the most successful. Japan has high rates of economic success but this has been brought
about because of work through “high pressures, tight schedules, and work-life” the author wants
its readers to understand that more factors need to be pushed into the lives of Japanese
individuals besides work. The author shares that family life, vacations, “leisure pursuits”,
building a sense of community and other factors which have made countries like Italy, Greece,
and Guatemala, amongst other countries rank so highly when it comes to outcomes of happiness
and economic standpoint. The piece discusses how this is something that must be addressed by
the government as it is essential way to support Japan's citizens and increase the rates of life
satisfaction for the Japanese population and additionally persuade the audience that high
economic standing isn’t essential and has little to no significance when it comes to being happy
since Japanese people are the ones being directly impacted by this.
Another essential point that The Japan Times’ piece uses to build its argument is the
author’s own individual opinion and perspective. “Happiness is one of the most meaningful and
deeply felt life experiences” ultimately this is a thought that the author has formulated on their
own and he wants their readers to understand. The Japan Times’ piece being discussed is an
editorial piece meaning it is based on the opinions of the news outlet. People are visiting this
editorial piece to gain the perspective of these writers. Since the articles audience is
predominantly Japanese the author intends to reach the people that have fallen under the statistic
of “low-life satisfaction” and push them to understand the significance of why that is occuring to
them in the first place. “Higher incomes, without other types of non material gains, means very
little...instead of focusing on numerical growth...other issues should be given greater
consideration.” The author of this article is pushing responsibility on the government and the
lack of support they have provided Japanese citizens in efforts to actually become happy. The
author makes it clear to readers that because the government has pushed so much pressure on
economic growth in the country so many people are unhappy because they add so much pressure
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