auddiii answers “I have to wonder about the merit of the...”

Andrea asked this question about Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life:

I have to wonder about the merit of the book that somehow ties being Japanese to being happy, and cites "always being busy" as the key to longevity and bliss. I hope the author knows that Japanese culture is the only one (at least to my limited knowledge) that has a word for death from overworking, and has some of the highest suicide rates from stress and impossible performance standards. How is this addressed?

auddiii To be honest, isn't what the book sort of slyly implies, that Japanese culture, much like all cultures around us, have all the secrets within. Yet, mo…moreTo be honest, isn't what the book sort of slyly implies, that Japanese culture, much like all cultures around us, have all the secrets within. Yet, modernization tends to kill the one aspect that balances out some aspect and amplifies the other aspect, until it pops like an overstretched rubber band.
This book talks about getting back to our roots, in the subtlest fashion ever.(less)

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