Chapter 5
A New Value System

Takeshi Umehara's words about "not only economic power, but a new value system" made a deep impression on my mind. What in the world was a new value system? I had been able to see it vaguely in my mind for a long time, but there was one more thing that was not clear. I decided to try to sort it out.

<A New Value System in Daily Life>
A life insurance company did a survey about what people reconsidered after the disaster. People who prioritized work started to prioritize their family.
People who wanted a successful career and high income started to want self-fulfillment from working, and to contribute to society through their work.
People who thought they would not marry until they found the perfect match began to want to marry and have families.
This is the new form of happiness of family and bonding which were set aside during the postwar rapid economic growth with the illusion of happiness from ever-rising salaries.

<Bhutan's GNH>
GNH is an abbreviation for Gross National Happiness. GNP is an indicator of a country's wealth through economic production, but GNH aims to evaluate the wealth of the citizens from the mental aspect.
Bhutan adopted this indicator in 1972, and made increasing GNH a central focus of their policy. The happiness of the people made good progress, and according to a 2005 study, approximately 90% of people were happy.
However, in recent years, the influx of capitalism from India has progressed rapidly, and the country's "spiritual wealth" is being taken over by financial wealth.

<World Value Survey>
The World Value Survey is an international project that surveys the sociocultural, moral, religious, and political value systems of all the countries of the world, beginning in 1981. Among other things, the data reflects the current level of happiness, and every year the Scandinavian countries are ranked near the top, and countries that have problems with conflict at the bottom.
One of the overwhelmingly strong factors that determined happiness was income (wealth), but in recent years, a change has been seen in this area. In addition to income, diversity and community emerged as factors in happiness.