Man says Japanese are stressed even with ‘perfect society’, but Indians stay happy despite chaos
A user's post about India being happier than the “perfect society” Japan is sparking a discussion about what really makes someone happy.
An X user tweeted that happiness is not a commodity purchased; it is, instead, a state of mind. To make his point, he compared Japan and India, claiming that despite being a “perfect society”, people in the country are stressed and there are no happy faces. The individual added that, despite its drawbacks, India is a country filled with happy faces.
“I know this feels counterintuitive given bad roads, crazy traffic, crowded trains and long working hours. But at the risk of being hated for this opinion - let me give it a shot,” the X user wrote.
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He added that earlier this year, he visited Tokyo and found it to have “every luxury imaginable of a first-world country.” However, what he claimed he couldn't see were happy faces. He said that all he could see were stressed-out people, even in metros or on the streets.
“Trains are on time, food is cheap, countless parks, many forms of entertainment - but people are just working like machines, they haven't seen salary growth in decades, many are so lonely they haven't had human interaction in months and years!” He argued that the cost of a “perfect society” is people “slogging it out without any hope or ambition.”
In the following lines, he drew a comparison of Japanese society with that of India. He said how people can often see kids playing, aunties hanging out, or people chatting in India. “People don't tie their happiness to purely material well-being.”
“It is something foreigners have always noticed about India. That even people who don't have much, find joy and happiness in their simple lives. Many of us may not be able to understand it because for most of us - this is the only way we have always lived,” he added.
He concluded his post by saying, “Happiness is indeed a state of mind.” HT.com has reached out to the X user; this report will be updated once he responds.
What did social media say?
Agreeing with the X user, an individual wrote, “Happiness ain't got much to do with brand new pavement or fancy transit lines. It’s more about the warmth of folks connecting and finding joy right where they are, infrastructure or no infrastructure.” Another added, “It’s not counterintuitive at all.”
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A third posted, “Well said! Thanks.” A fourth wrote, “My mum has been to many countries. Japan was her worst experience.”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
