&gt; this articles makes it appear as if Japan was the outlier but the truth is that the US is.<p>I think what makes Japan the outlier is their shockingly low violent crime rate, crime rate against children (abductions, etc) and one of the lowest drug use in first world countries.<p>I remember during the 80s, one of the big things being pushed for by politicians was a low crime rate and low drug use (same time D.A.R.E came into the world). Looks like Japan discovered that utopia. Japan certainly has it&#x27;s cultural problems (which country doesn&#x27;t?) but I&#x27;d love to have their problems instead of our own. It would be nice to be worrying about working 12 hour days instead of worrying about being shot on my way to work every day (last year, a bullet ricocheted of the concrete near me kicking up a piece or a rock which hit me in my leg, requiring stitches).