Japan for Sustainability (“JFS”) reports that over 22 local governments are now in the process of developing new measures of well-being, happiness, or “true wealth,” including both cities and prefectural governments. These projects include the cities of Kyoto and Sapporo (the capital of Hokkaido), Arakawa City in Tokyo, and a group of 13 prefectures who are jointly collaborating to produce a “Local Hope Index.” These results are reported in the context of Japan for Sustainability’s survey of 101 local governments.
JFS is a non-governmental organization that is closely allied with the Institute for Studies in Happiness, Economy, and Society (ISHES), sponsor of the Life Beyond Growth report.
For information on the Japanese local government happiness initatives, see this archived issue of the JFS newsletter:
http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsletter/pages/032301.html
For general information about JFS: http://www.japanfs.org/en/
Life Beyond Growth 