This week the annual World Happiness Report was released by UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), and Norway came out as number 1. As a Norwegian living in Tokyo I had the chance to talk about this topic with a couple of Norwegian friends on the Japanese TV-program "ZIP!". A short clip from the show can be seen below.

今週発表されました世界幸福度ランギングで出身地ノルウェーが世界一に選ばれました。その結果について日本テレビの番組「ZIP!」でノルウェーについて語る機会がありました。ご興味ある方はどうぞ見てみてください(　＾ω＾)ノ

番組の内容：

世界幸福度ランキングでノルウェーが1位に輝いた。世界幸福度ランキングは、国民1人あたりのGDP、社会的支援などを数値化しランキングにしたもの。日本は51位。ノルウェーはどんな国なのか？面積は日本とほぼおなじ面積で人口は500万人。公共教育は大学まで全て無料。留学生には家賃も全て出してくれるという。企業側も残業をさせない働きかけをしている。長期休暇も休暇手当という制度があり、法律で決まっている。出産・育児は有給で1年間休むことが出来、どちらの性別でも使えるという。

「TVでた蔵」より

The program is mostly in Japanese (except for one interviewee who uses English), but for those who don't the content in Japanese the things we discussed largely concentrates on the following points:

• It is common for Norwegians to enjoy a large range of activities after work hours, and generally people like to do fun activities (This stands in stark contrast to Japan, where people usually reserve their weekdays for work only).
• Working culture: In Norway it for employees to leave the office as soon as the official work hours are over. If the employees won't leave it often happens that their managers will ask them to leave (In Japan, on the other hand.
• Maternity Leave: In order to ensure that both parents are able to spend time with their newborns Norway has adopted a law making it mandatory for both the mother and the father to take out maternity (/paternity) leave. The total period of the maternity leave is one full year (fully paid), but it is up to the couples themselves to decide how to split it.

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• All blogposts from Tokyo
• All blogposts about Norwegian stuff abroad
• Yokohama : Norwegian Skolebolle in World Porters
• Yokohama Kannai: The Norwegian Bar - Bar Norge (バーノルゲ)
• Norway Food Festival in Tokyo!
• Tokyo Cafes: Cafe Fuglen - Norwegian style Coffee & Vintage Furniture
• Norwegian 17. May Celebration in Tokyo 2014 - 東京でのノルウェー憲法記念日
• Norway Yumenet Presentation in Tokyo (Norsk Salong)
• Japan Hardanger Club (日本ハルダンゲルクラブ) Performance at the Norwegian Embassy
• Norway in Japan: Arne & Carlos Knitting Event
• Celebrating Norway's National Day at the Embassy in Tokyo!
• NHK on Norwegian Slow TV／NHK放送：ノルウェーのスローテレビ
• NHK E-Tele: "Gretel's Magical Oven" and Norwegian Waffles
• The Norway-Japan Society: Yakatabune Dinner Cruise on the Tokyo Bay (屋形船)
• ZIP！（アレナニ？）Norway and the World Happiness Report 世界幸福度ランキング ”世界一幸福” ノルウェーどんな国？

The Izu peninsula offers a range of outdoor experiences like sandy beaches, snorkling, cherry blossom spots and so much more. During my recent trip to Izu we drove through the whole east side of the peninsula, and on our way we stopped by Mt. Omuro (大室山, Ōmuroyama), an inactive volcano known for its magnificent view of the Izu Peninsula, including the Pacific Ocean and Mt. Fuji.

Update: Wise Owl Hostels just opened up their second hostel in the Shibuya area. You can check out their availability here.