> I would sincerely like to get a breakdown of all the factors that contribute to the Japanese living to such an old age, rather than the usual "this one weird trick" bullshit that Economist and others try to swindle on the Western readership.
Why is it that the term “western" is so often at some point introduce with some implication some culturally cohesive unit called “the west” exists any time Japan in particular is mentioned somewhere?
I find that very often when this happens, and when attributes of this supposed “western” culture are listed, it seems to mostly mean “The Anglo-Saxon world”, not so much “the west”.
The last time it happened on H.N. where someone complained about a sensationalist “western" article about Japan, it was pointed out that it was posted in a Japanese newspaper, and a translation from an original Japanese article, however sensationalist it might be.
Other than that, yes, there is probably not a single simple rule that governs it but a myriad of factors that contribute with many no doubt also working in the opposite direction, such as Japan's famously stressful workplace life and the high suicide rate of office workers.
Why is it that the term “western" is so often at some point introduce with some implication some culturally cohesive unit called “the west” exists any time Japan in particular is mentioned somewhere?
I find that very often when this happens, and when attributes of this supposed “western” culture are listed, it seems to mostly mean “The Anglo-Saxon world”, not so much “the west”.
The last time it happened on H.N. where someone complained about a sensationalist “western" article about Japan, it was pointed out that it was posted in a Japanese newspaper, and a translation from an original Japanese article, however sensationalist it might be.
Other than that, yes, there is probably not a single simple rule that governs it but a myriad of factors that contribute with many no doubt also working in the opposite direction, such as Japan's famously stressful workplace life and the high suicide rate of office workers.